Frozen Reality
by PianoMan5
Summary: A high school Phineas and Isabella have been torn from their reality, forced to survive in a hostile, bizarre ice age. Meanwhile, Ferb and the gang must work tirelessly to find them, but is this merely a coincidence, or are there darker forces at play?
1. Torn from Reality

**Hello people! Long time no see. Life got in the way, but now I'm back with this new story! I have several chapters written already, but to keep ahead, I'm going to release chapters every Friday or Saturday. Expect a combination of romance (Phinbella!), action, mystery, and drama. Oh yeah, and terrible humor.**

**Rated T for scary scenes and potential violence. No swearing!**

**Beta'd by ayahsad167 (all chapters) and Sabrina06 (this chapter).**

****Story-Wide Disclaimer****

**This disclaimer applies to this chapter and every chapter hereafter. All characters of Phineas and Ferb are the property of Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, & Disney Channel. I own the story idea and nothing else.**

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Chapter 1: Torn from Reality

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Isabella had her eyes trained on the side of Phineas's smirking face. She would _not _let him catch her staring at him again. Then his head shot up to face hers, but she was already focused on the gauze she was packing into a first aid kit, grinning.

And then _her_ head shot up, catching _him_ looking at her.

"Ha!" she shouted from across the yard. They had devised a little game while working, trying to sneak looks at one another without being noticed. Otherwise they might have died of boredom.

It was a bright summer morning in the lustrous city of Danville, and the two young inventors and their friends were already hard at work. Their Junior year had come to a close on a Friday, only three days before, and to celebrate, the gang was heading to Badbeard lake to go camping. Not everyone from the old gang remained—some of the ex-Fireside girls had moved away, and others had simply found other friends—but Ginger, Adyson, Gretchen, Isabella, and all of the guys still hung out nearly every day at school or home.

Though it wasn't their most exuberant project to date, most of the day was dedicated towards packing in the Flynn-Fletchers' famous backyard for the week-long trip. Everyone had a task, some easier than others, but all important. It was a small price to pay, however, for the fun they would be having in the coming days. Ferb had thoroughly composed a camping schedule jam-packed full of hiking and activities, with just enough time between adventures to rest and recover.

Isabella was particularly excited about this trip because of the crazy adventures they would pursue, such as the spelunking Ferb had mentioned or rediscovering the stash of beards they had hidden somewhere near the lake. They were even planning to hike Mount Santa, the tallest mountain near Badbeard Lake which was named for its history of glaciers and snow. Of course, that meant hauling around snow gear for snowball fights and such, but after a month in the summer heat, it was quickly becoming the most anticipated activity.

Even more exciting than Mount Santa, however, was simply time to recover from a year of school. Isabella's life had been dominated by final exams, honors classes, and school government all year, and while it had been fun to share many of these activities with Phineas and Ferb, it was nice to relax from all the stress.

Isabella stood in the shade of the huge oak tree, supposed to be stocking medical pouches, but she couldn't help but continually watch Phineas from out of the corner of her eye. He was individually sorting through each person's vital equipment, currently adding sleeping bags. Isabella was dearly hoping for a chance to be with him in the coming days, _alone_. She was all but positive that Phineas knew at least a little about her perpetual attraction towards him. He had caught on to some of her flirtations during the year, and they had even gone to prom as friends.

Suddenly her view was blocked by a certain block-headed Brit. Ferb gave Isabella a smug grin, aware of her ever-present obsession with Phineas, then walked away, shaking his head in amusement.

"Shut up, Ferb," she jested playfully, turning her gaze back to Phineas. And then he turned to stare right back at her, shoot! He and caught her eye and winked, making sure she knew of his victory. Isabella turned slightly pink, but stuck her tongue out at him to hide it. He gave her a toothy grin and turned back to his job, making her smile.

But then he suddenly stiffened, dropping the sleeping bags. He then doubled over, tightly covering his ears. Isabella's smile disappeared.

"Phin?" she called out nervously, her eyes widening. He didn't seem to hear her, but began to wobble for several seconds, then fell to the ground, writhing in apparent agony.

"Phineas!" she shouted in alarm, rushing across the lawn to him. But just as she was kneeling down beside him, a shrill, piercing noise exploded in her eardrums. She clamped her hands to her ears, but the noise only got louder and higher, now vehemently resonating through her brain. She toppled over on top of Phineas, virulently screaming through gritted teeth as the pain intensified. It was like a hammer was being mercilessly thrown around in her head, each thwack twice as agonizing as the last. All of her senses had gone dead, now only subject to this brutal, never-ending torture. The noise became louder and louder, higher and higher, and—

A tremendous flash of light blinded Isabella even though her eyelids were shut tightly. Everything started going cold, and the piercing scream and pain were quickly fading into nothing. In seconds, only a faint echo remained.

_Am I dead?_ thought Isabella as she drifted through space. Dismay and a little regret coursed through her; she had never truly revealed her feelings to Phineas. _If I only had one more week, I would have told him,_ she thought airily.

Isabella continued to drift, but the silence was abruptly shattered by a groan, and something shifted … _underneath _her. All at once her senses began to work again, and when she finally remembered how to open her eyes, she was once again blinded by light.

After Isabella's eyes adjusted, she looked around, expecting the Flynn-Fletchers' lush backyard cluttered with safety equipment. Maybe her friends would be crowded around her, wondering why she had collapsed for seemingly no reason. Instead, all she saw was thick white fog, icy brown ground coupled with a few upheaved boulders, and ... were those _snowflakes?_

Another grunt sounded out from beneath her, and she realized that she was on top of someone. Isabella apologetically sprang off of Phineas, who was lying on his side and had been pressed into a _snowdrift_. He was definitely shivering, suddenly making Isabella all too aware of how bitterly cold the temperature was.

"Are you okay?" she asked for more reasons than one, helping him get to his feet. He made no response, gazing into the swirling white fog in awe. She was beginning to wonder if this was all a hallucination, if she had just drifted into some abnormal variant of Phineas-Land.

Following his gaze, Isabella peered off into the sky and something caught her eye. If she squinted, she could barely make out the craggy peak of a distant, towering mountain. Another loomed beside it, and another, until she realized that they were _surrounded_ by unfamiliar mountains.

"Phin?" she asked again, looking towards him imploringly for some sort of explanation. He still didn't answer, which was strangely unnerving to her. "Phineas, what's going on?" Why wouldn't he answer? But then he finally seemed to come back to the present.

"Where _are_ we?" he finally asked, utterly bewildered. He glanced around, looking for some sort of landmark. "This doesn't make any sense," he muttered, shaking his head. "Did that—just—happen? Did we just _teleport_?" Isabella watched him worriedly, beginning to shiver as well, as he scratched his head. "It's like somebody decided to stop time, and then moved us to … are we _already _at Badbeard Lake?"

Phineas took a few steps forward, swiping through the air as if to find some sort of screen, some device causing the icy illusion. But he found none and soon walked back, baffled.

Isabella's breath caught in her throat; she had _never_ been this clueless about where they were. Her mountaineering patch extensively covered every known mountain range on Earth, but none of these mountains matched up. Her Fireside girl knowledge was, for once, of no use, making everything seem rather ominous.

An unexpected, low reverberation sounded from deep underground, which set her off. Isabella instinctively grabbed Phineas's hand and held it tightly, not out of affection, not to warm her hand, but because she was scared. "Phin, what's happening?" she pleaded, not even trying to hide her fear. She could feel her heartbeat pulsing wildly in her chest. "Please tell me this is just a big joke."

"It's okay, Izzy," he comforted, but his shining blue eyes, filled with fear and confusion, gave him away. Both involuntarily stepped towards each other as the full realization washed over them. They were just teenagers, not even out of high school, and they had been abandoned in a desolate, arctic biome that not even Isabella could identify. They had no means of communication with society, nor proper equipment or food to survive. They were in the middle of nowhere, completely and utterly alone.

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**If you didn't figure it out, that "unexpected, low reverberation" was a very small earthquake. So what did you think? Interesting or a train-wreck? Reviews and constructive criticism are very appreciated, and I always respond!**


	2. Fighting the Cold

**I told you I'd update on Friday! I don't know if I'll have access to a computer next Friday or Saturday, though, so there's a chance I'll update on Sunday instead.**

**Educational treat below :)**

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Chapter 2: Fighting the Cold

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Isabella was at a loss. Never, not even with Phineas and Ferb, had she been in this dire of a situation, and despite her Fireside girls training, she presently wasn't sure how to cope with it. How they had just suffered through spontaneous torture and then ended up in a completely different environment she couldn't even begin to , however, was still maintaining a level of reason.

"Alright," he said in an effort to compose himself. "Assuming we aren't delirious, I can think of t-two possible explanations. Either we've gone back in time several thousand years to the Ice Age, or we've been teleported to some p-place like Alaska." Despite her stress, Isabella couldn't help but chuckle inwardly; it was all too normal for Phineas to think of life in terms of math and formulas, and this was no exception. "Maybe Ferb just pranked us," he continued, forcing a grin, "So we ought to just sit tight for a few minutes until they come p-pick us up."

"Okay," she replied faintly, hoping that this was all one big mistake. Having a plan felt better than being completely clueless. But several minutes passed, and nobody came. On top of that, it didn't make sense for a gentleman like Ferb to do such an unpleasant thing to them. Isabella could tell that even Phineas's contrived optimism was beginning to fade, and just then, a chilling breeze began to pick up, giving her goosebumps.

"It's getting c-cold out here, Phineas," she told him, rubbing her bare legs, and his eyes flashed with concern. Neither her purple print sundress nor his orange t-shirt and jeans were at all suitable for winter; they were supposed to be for a warm summer morning.

Phineas was looking very distressed as Isabella tried exhaling into her hands to warm them. But it was futile, as her shaky breaths only warmed them for a second or so. She was about to pull her arms into her dress when he spoke up.

"Here, Izzy, g-give me your h-hands." He stepped forward and cupped her hands in his, rubbing them together to create friction heat. It barely helped, as Phineas's hands were actually _colder _than hers, but she appreciated the gesture and tried to smile for him.

But without any winter protection, they wouldn't last much longer. Phineas knew it too, and opened his mouth to say something, but then he seemed to go deep into thought and stopped. All at once, he began furiously digging into the snowdrift they had just been lying on, and Isabella confusedly knelt down to help.

"What are you d-doing?" she asked, her hands already freezing from scooping snow.

"There's a chance that when we t-teleported—Aha!"

Phineas had found something. A few seconds later he emerged with a snowy armful of the equipment they had been organizing only minutes before.

"Aren't we lucky, these m-must have c-come with us!" he exclaimed, sounding triumphant. He then ducked down again, looking for more things to salvage.

"Sweet, g-good thinking, Phineas!" Isabella replied, feeling a little relieved. Everything they were touching must have teleported with them. That explained why she and Phineas were still wearing their clothing, why they both weren't completely—

Isabella flushed from her own embarrassing thought process and shook her head to clear it, just in time for him to hand her a lightweight purple winter coat and pair of black snow pants. This snow gear had only been meant for mild weather and to keep dry, but it was a big step up from having nothing. She graciously thanked him and had just zipped up the warm coat around her trembling body when she noticed that Phineas still wasn't wearing anything.

"Where's your coat, Phineas?" Isabella asked, examining their meager pile of supplies in search of one.

"Oh, I'm fine, I don't need one," he replied quite calmly, turning his back to her. He had suddenly became rigid, as if to fight against his violent shivering.

"Yes you do, it's _freezing _out here." She was getting suspicious.

"I'm f-fine," he repeated with a new edge of defiance. He had found a pair of gloves and held them out to her mechanically, but she ignored them. And then it dawned on her: They had only one set of winter clothing.

"You need it more than I do," she said, reasoning that he had been the one pressed into the snowdrift, but he shook his head stubbornly. Narrowing her eyes, Isabella quickly unzipped her comfortable winter coat and threw it in between them. She then proceeded to sit cross-legged on the cracked ground, folding her arms.

"If you won't wear the coat, then neither will I." Isabella stared menacingly at Phineas and he stared back, equally ornery. She was secretly swooning because he was willing to give up his comfort for her, but also knew how quickly their uncovered arms could become frostbitten.

A minute passed, and Isabella was already missing the toasty warm interior of the coat. Her teeth began to chatter again, which seemed to be the snapping point for Phineas.

"Fine," he conceded, "We'll f-find a way s-so we can b-both use it, okay?" He grabbed the askew coat and began to inspect it, only to discover that it could have been separated into two all along: A windbreaker, and an inner fleece liner.

Phineas's eye twitched slightly as he handed Isabella the warmer liner. He, like Isabella, was probably feeling a little silly at their irrational behavior. "I'm sorry, Isabella," he atoned, "I g-guess I overreacted quite a bit. All this—" he gestured around with his hands "—still has me a little thrown off."

"No, I'm sorry too," she replied remorsefully, "I was being dumb when I took off the coat."

"At least we're warm now," he said, tucking the fabric of the coat tightly around him for extra warmth.

The couple went back to seemingly ineffectual waiting, but took inventory of their supplies in the meantime. In his mild ire, Phineas had failed to spot a second pair of gloves, and there were also three pairs of somewhat-fitting boots. In addition to winter wear, they found two weather-resistant sleeping bags still buried in the snowdrift (though one was Buford-sized), about a week's worth of emergency food rations, and a small flashlight. There was no water, but it would have frozen anyway.

However, they still had only one true coat and one pair of snow pants. Isabella had begrudgingly accepted the snow pants after Phineas pointed out that she was only wearing a knee-length dress.

Isabella tried to remain light hearted as she talked with Phineas as if everything were normal, but the minutes quickly progressed into an hour with no sign of Ferb. She struggled to ignore her uneasiness and growing hunger, but when possible signs of a blizzard began to show, she knew she had to stop denying the inevitable.

"They're not coming for us, Phin," she told him lightly after a break in the conversation. He gazed at her, concerned, and nodded to her slowly. They both knew, even if they were still refusing to admit it, that they could very well be out here, in the wilderness, for any length of time.

"We need to find shelter," she continued, beginning to stand up. As if on cue, a snowy blast of wind greeted them coldly, nearly blowing Isabella off her feet. Phineas was more prepared, and caught her in his arms until the cold front had passed.

"Thanks," she whispered appreciatively, looking away to hide her blush, as he still hadn't let her go yet. Although Isabella had matured since her preteen years, the butterflies Phineas always gave her had never faded, but rather seemed to intensify. He flashed her a quick smile and released his grip on her shoulders, allowing her to reluctantly step away.

Both teenagers began attempting to pick up all the supplies while tensed for more wind, but it was useless. They couldn't even hold all of the packaged food, let alone everything else. But then Isabella had an idea.

"Could we stuff everything into a sleeping bag, and each carry a side? It would be awkward, but not too heavy."

Phineas agreed to give it a test, and a few moments later, everything had been stowed in the smaller, shapeless bag. Isabella tightened the opening with one of her shoelaces—they had switched out their shoes for snow boots—and on the count of three, they hoisted it up.

She had predicted correctly—it was _very _awkward, requiring them to walk in equal strides—but it was a temporary fix. So, after a barrage of unnecessary compliments from Phineas, the couple headed towards the edge of the clearing. They had to walk through occasional fields of snow, navigate through or around sections of dead brush, and watch their step in rocky areas. They often stumbled, and their shoulders kept bumping together, but Phineas had found a way to make it fun. He began bumping into her on every other stride, and they soon had a back-and-forth game going until he bumped too hard and Isabella actually fell over, laughing. She loved how she could laugh because he was _funny_, not just to hint that she liked him.

Despite their game and ongoing conversation, however, both teens remained on the alert for wild animals and other forms of danger, along with any trace of civilization. Isabella was still struggling to determine any geographical estimate of where they were, and she was getting frustrated. The likeliest match was probably one of the treeless mountain clearings in the Himalayas, but the somewhat warmer temperature they were experiencing didn't make sense.

After an hour, they reached some of the hills near the base of a mountain and quickly spotted a distant evergreen forest not in eyeshot before. They agreed that the trees would probably be the best bet for shelter, and began to head towards them. Not long after their trek had begun, however, snow begun heavily falling, accompanied by swirling, icy wind. The blizzard Isabella had predicted earlier was arriving, and the two had to pick up their pace even though they were tiring quickly. The falling snow quickly thickened to nearly white-out level, and they could feel the temperature dropping severely.

Fifteen minutes passed, and they were still miles away from shelter. Isabella and Phineas were no longer conversing, as their exhausted voices were drowned out by the fiercely howling wind. Every synchronized step was a fight against both oncoming gusts and snow piling as high as their boots. To make matters worse, dusk was nearing, and the small amount of sunlight streaming through the dense clouds and snowflakes began to dwindle. Still, they pressed on, striving to reach their destination before night came.

Isabella tripped over a snow-covered rock, earning a faceful of snow. The cold was beginning to seep through her inadequate coat liner, and the hunger that had been gnawing on her stomach previously was now thrashing like an enraged bull. She looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of their faraway destination, but was met with a sheer wall of rock instead.

_Where did the forest go?_ she thought as Phineas wordlessly helped her up. He seemed confused as well, and they took a few uncertain steps towards the steep cliff. And then it became apparent: They had drifted off course through the storm, and had been slowly approaching the base of a steep mountain instead.

_We're not going to make it,_ Isabella admitted to herself, finally acknowledging that their trek was becoming useless. It was already getting dark, so she reasoned that next best choice would probably be a cave or crevice in the mountain. If all else failed, they would need to dig a snow cave.

After three failed attempts, she finally managed to convey her plan to Phineas through the storm. He nodded in accordance, which was much easier than shouting back a yes, and they nearly clung to the rocky wall as they searched for possible shelter. Luckily, Phineas was able to spot a wide enough crack in the wall almost instantly, and they hurriedly maneuvered their way into it. At least one thing was going well that day.

Their newfound 'cave' was hardly comfortable; it was small, they had to stoop to stand, and very little of the dwindling sunlight light filtered through the entrance. Nevertheless, it blocked out most of the wind and snow and was marginally warmer inside. It was also much quieter, allowing them to speak at a reasonable level.

Once they had warmed up a bit, they gorged themselves on a welcomed dinner of chalky protein bars. Isabella showed Phineas how to melt snow with body heat, and they soon after drank their cold beverage from a spare boot.

It was now completely dark outside—whether it was the blizzard or actually night they knew not—so there wasn't anything to do but sleep. With no nearby plants or trees they would have no luck with a fire, but luckily the Flynn-Fletcher grade sleeping bags were designed to withstand very cold temperatures. Phineas began them out, but quickly let out a gasp.

"What's wrong?" asked Isabella, shining their tiny flashlight at him through the darkness.

"The sleeping bag. One side's been shredded," Phineas replied, holding up the weathered bag and revealing a series of long tears. It must have slowly torn over their various falls, and probably wouldn't keep them as warm. At least nothing had fallen out of the rips.

"It's alright, I'll sleep with it," he offered, laying out the damaged sleeping bag on the cold but smooth stone floor.

"You can't sleep with that," Isabella countered, "You'll freeze!" Like before, she felt a combination of both fluttery happiness and defiance that she could handle it just as well. "I'll use it, I'll be able to stay warmer with the techniques I learned from my night survival patch."

Phineas had broken down during the coat incident, and it had worked out, but this time he wouldn't budge. Isabella sensed this, and decided to let him win this one.

"Okay, you can take it," she said, "But you need to wear these snow pants. And if you get cold in the night, be sure to tell me!"

Phineas complied, slipping on the snow pants that Isabella had just unzipped. They then got into their sleeping bags, and tried to fall asleep.

As Isabella lay on the hard stone floor, she compared it to her warm, comfortable pink bed back at home. This day had turned out drastically different than expected, making her wonder what the next would be like. She had surely received her wish of spending time with Phineas, alone, but she didn't want to feel _this _alone.

"Phin? … Are we gonna make it home?" She had tried to sound indifferent, but her voice still came out weak and timid. She didn't want to admit it, but she was undeniably scared.

"Yes," Phineas affirmed as boldly as he could. "Isabella, I _promise_ you that we'll make it home." She hesitated, then nodded to him in the darkness.

"Thanks," she whispered. It wasn't much, just a few words, but they were powerful to Isabella. Phineas's promise gave her a new hope because she knew he would take care of her.

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**When reading stories on Fanfiction, I often encounter words I don't know, and frequently have to use the dictionary to understand them. This has slowly given me a love for vocabulary, and I feel like sharing some of my favorite words with you. ****So, at the bottom of each chapter, you will see the 'Word of the Week'. I will pick a difficult word used somewhere in the chapter, define it, and talk a little about it. Perhaps you will already know the word, perhaps you'll get bored of these, perhaps you'll call me a blithering fool, but it's there for you if you'd like a little educational tidbit once a week :)**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

**Word • Pronunciation • Type of Speech**

_**Barrage ****•** garage with a 'b' -OR- bar-idge **•** Noun, verb_

_- An overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms._

If someone constantly pesters you with questions, then they are _barraging_ you with questions. A barrage is a succession of something to the point of ridiculousness. This can also work with gunfire or describing other sorts of projectiles. From the story: "So, after a barrage of unnecessary compliments from Phineas, the couple headed towards the edge of the clearing." Phineas was so impressed by Isabella's sleeping bag transportation idea that he gave her compliment after compliment until it became overwhelming to her; thus, he gave her a barrage of compliments.

**...**

**Guest/Disabled _PM_ Review Responses:**

_**Guest 1:**_** Really? Somebody else mentioned that too. I'm trying to think of where... Well now you can see that they _can_ survive... for a few days. Thanks!**

_**Guest**_ _**2: **_**Thank you :)**

**_Guest 3 (You guys can add names to the guest reviews to distinguish them, you know :P jk): _You thought you recognized the entire story before? Sorry, I got a little confused, but thanks anyways!**


	3. Missing

**Sorry it had to be later this week guys, the next update will be Friday! I hope you all had a good Valentine's day! I did :)**

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Chapter 3: Missing

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It was just a regular day. Packing for a traditional camping trip. Not the most exciting of adventures, but necessary nonetheless. No big deal, right? Wrong.

Ferb stood rigid, all his hair standing edge, as he watched his two best friends collapse on the ground, convulsing violently. Isabella let out a shrill, piercing scream, her arms tightly pressed against her ears. They had just been flirting, stealing glances at one another as always, and now they were having a mutual seizure on the ground. He didn't understand what was happening, his mind was drawing a blank. This didn't make any sense, what was going on?!

Something finally snapped in his brain, and Ferb ran towards them with all his might. Only moments before he had been feeding poles through tent riggings, and now his mind was pulled into hyper drive. He had nearly reached them, completely at a loss of what to do, when they vanished. Dissipated into thin air, right in front of him. The scream was cut off, severed, and the air was once again filled with the chirping of little birds.

Ferb was so perplexed that he nearly ran into the fence. He looked around frantically, but all he could see were piles of equipment and the backyard whirled around and his eyes bore into the place they had just been shaking, writhing. Had he somehow zoned out at the worst moment, could they have snuck out the yard or vamoosed into the house for some lemonade?

Ferb grabbed his head and lightly shook it, trying to clear his deranged thoughts. _I just imagined that,_ he thought fervently, _It's the sun. The heat of the sun is playing with my mind._ His eyes shot open again, but there was still no sign of Phineas nor Isabella. _They just went inside to get a drink. They didn't disappear._

The gate door suddenly burst open and Buford, Ginger, and Adyson briskly walked in, looking on edge. Baljeet stood near them, clutching a clipboard tightly and staring just as wide-eyed at the ground as Ferb was. Apparently he had witnessed the scene as well but had been too flabbergasted to act.

"What's wrong?" asked Adyson, surveying the yard just as Ferb had done moments before.

"We heard girly scream," Buford added gruffly. He eyed Ferb apprehensively, as if expecting a response.

Ferb's eye twitched, and he felt as though his brain had suffered a fatal system crash. Had he actually just witnessed two of his best friends disappearing into thin air? He, for the first time this summer, was confused. He took a few steps forward to the spot where Phineas and Isabella had been seemingly writhing, almost expecting them to reappear, but they did not.

Buford grunted impatiently, still waiting for a reply, but Ferb wished he could use gestures rather than being restricted to inferior speech. Only Phineas could fully understand him, however.

"Neither of you would believe me," he finally muttered, his voice weak. Baljeet couldn't even mutter his assent; he was still white-faced and catatonic.

"Just spit it out," Adyson said, raising an eyebrow. Just then, the house door opened and Gretchen came out, carrying packages of water bottles. She joined the circle in confusion as to what was happening.

"Phineas and Isabella—they just disappeared. Right here."

"Inside, maybe?" Ginger offered, not understanding.

"No," Ferb tried to explain, with an almost imperceptible tone of agitation. "They didn't _leave_. They were shaking on the ground, most certainly in pain, when they vanished into thin air." Everyone stared at him.

Ferb tried several more times to explain the impossible extent of the situation, but nobody really understood. Gretchen looked concerned, but more for the wellbeing of _him_ than his friends; Baljeet was utterly bewildered despite having witnessed the event as well; Ginger was now watching a butterfly flutter aimlessly through the air; and Buford and Adyson were just deviating towards crude humor, a recent, but favorite pastime of theirs. Had they already forgotten Isabella's blood curdling scream?

"Maybe they eloped," Adyson muttered casually, earning a snigger out of Buford.

"That's ridiculous, we're still in _high school_," Ginger commented, rolling her eyes, "And they aren't even dating yet... officially."

"I dunno, Addy sounded pretty spot-on to me," Buford grunted, nudging her in the side with a little more force than necessary. She punched him in the shoulder in friendly retaliation, then they began firing off more hollow jokes on the whereabouts of Phineas and Isabella.

"Are you sure you haven't just been working too hard, Ferb?" Gretchen asked politely over Buford's current jabbering of "Isabella's probably picking out her wedding ring right now". Ferb shook his head stubbornly, his face set. He couldn't have imagined it. He _didn't_ imagine it. They had vaporized, right before his eyes.

Gretchen's face suddenly became alit with an idea. "How about we find them with that teleporting phone," she said, "and then we can go to wherever they're hiding."

Ferb felt reluctant to test her theory, seeing as it would prove him wrong and make him look foolish, but at the same time, teleporting to Phineas and Isabella would be the best way to make sure they weren't in danger. He nodded slowly and went inside to retrieve Candace's old phone. Moments later he returned, quieted everyone else, and spoke in a firm voice, "Go to Phineas."

Nothing happened. Seconds later, a message appeared on the phone screen.

_Error 2x9A. Target does not exist._

Nobody moved. "Go to Isabella," Ferb tried again. The message displayed itself once more.

"Go to Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Phineas Flynn."

_Error 2x9A. Target does not exist._

Adyson and Buford weren't joking anymore. They looked surprised, not understanding why Phineas and Ferb's technology had for once failed them.

"M-Maybe the app's got a bug," Ginger stuttered, looking slightly disconcerted as well. "Maybe the phone's getting too old and won't teleport anymore."

"Go to Ginger," Ferb spoke again in his British accent. He instantly disappeared and popped up inches from Ginger's startled face, then quickly stepped back for space.

"Go to Phineas." The error displayed.

Ferb shook his head, annoyed. He felt a sliver of defiance, rashness that he had been right, but much larger was a growing hole of fear. He opened up the internals of the phone, tampered with the settings, and tried again, but nothing worked.

"Now do you believe me?" he asked them all.

"They're probably just pulling a prank on us," Baljeet finally said, clearly trying to sound strong. "Maybe they've gone back in time, maybe even in a different dimension. Are those variables tested in the program?"

Thirty minutes later, Baljeet and Ferb had reprogrammed the app to account for both time and dimensions. The others had gone back to packing for the trip, as if nothing were amiss, but all friendly conversations had been halted. Ferb knew that the chances of locating them were much higher in this case, but he still felt haunted by the loss of his friends.

"Okay. Go to Phineas Flynn." Baljeet stated, holding the phone up to his mouth.

_Error 2x9A. Target does not exist._

"How is that possible?!" Baljeet exclaimed, gawking at the phone in a frenzy. "There is no way to explain this! It searches everywhere and everywhen in the entire universe! I mean, even if they were—" He stopped himself, modifying his choice of words. "Even if they hadn't … survived, we'd still be able to find their … bodies."

Ferb generally had a better hold on his emotions, but he was feeling exactly the same. They weren't on a different continent or planet, weren't in the past or the future, weren't in a different dimension, weren't—he hated to think it—_dead_, but there was still no sign of them.

Ferb felt like a part of him had been ripped away, leaving him bleeding and confused. He didn't feel right, didn't feel quite _complete_ without his brother and best friend beside him. Phineas always stuck up for him, expressed his opinions when he was uncomfortable with speaking, but now he was gone.

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**Just when you thought it couldn't get more complicated ;) Please review if you liked it or thought anything could have been written better, they are very important and make me happy :D Even just a one word "awesome" is okay!**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

_******Vamoose •** sounds like 'caboose' **• **Verb_

_- to leave hurriedly or quickly._

In order to escape, prisoners must vamoose from the jail, thereby leaving very quickly. Vamoose is somewhat informal, but I sometimes use it in proper contexts as well. From the story: "Had [Ferb] somehow zoned out at the worst moment, could they have ... vamoosed into the house for some lemonade?" Ferb was wondering if Phineas and Isabella had (extremely) quickly ran into the house to get a glass of lemonade. In other words, he believed that they had vamoosed into the house so fast that he couldn't see them.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

_**Quest: You actually did review once before, but I have to approve it so it usually won't show up right away. I don't know if that exact situation will come up (as it already has in my story Christmas Bliss ;) but who knows?**_


	4. Fluffy Earthquakes

**Okay, I admit it. This chapter name doesn't quite fit the mood of the others. But who cares?!**

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Chapter 4: Fluffy Earthquakes

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Isabella couldn't sleep. She had tried counting sheep, had tossed and turned over the hard stone floor, and even buried herself in the massive sleeping bag to try to conserve heat. But none of this did any good, not even after a good hour of trying. She was still a little too chilly, and more importantly a little too disconcerted about how where they were and how to get home. Was civilization beyond the mountain or hundreds of miles away?

A draft blew through the cave, making Isabella's teeth chatter. Little snowflakes had collected on her sleeping bag, but at least they didn't leak into it. She wondered how Phineas was doing, if he had had any better luck with sleeping.

All at once, a deep rumble interrupted the silence of the night, and the cave floor began to quake. Isabella was jerked wide awake as her sleeping bag collided into something and then violently rocked back and forth. When she finally found the entrance to her humongous bag, a loud crack sounded and the whole crevice seemed to shift, knocking her head against the floor.

"Isabella!" Phineas shouted, though his voice sounded thick and muffled. Isabella dizzily looked up to see him fumbling with their only flashlight amidst the darkness, and then stumble to the ground. She began crawling in his direction, keeping her head down to protect it but constantly falling. But then, as quickly as the earthquake had begun, it came to an abrupt stop.

Isabella remained tensed for more shaking , but none came. "Phineas?" she asked, 'dizzy' with trepidation.

"I-I'm o-okay," he responded, shining the flashlight on her, "You?"

"Yep," she replied, rubbing the new bruise on her head soothingly. Phineas surveyed the cave with his flashlight, looking for cave-ins. Luckily, only minor damage had been done and the entrance was still in place.

"Are w-we s-safe now, or should we g-g-get out of h-here?" he asked shakily, flashing the light into the outer night sky only to discover it was still snowing quite profusely.

Isabella was well aware of the high possibility of aftershocks, but judging from the raging blizzard in the dead of night, she knew they didn't have much of a choice.

"We'll have to stay here and hope nothing collapses," she answered, standing up and trying to stay balanced. The cold air felt prickly against her bare legs, which yearned to be back in the warmth of her sleeping bag. Phineas however, was in much worse condition. Isabella could hear his teeth chattering incessantly, and despite his attempts to conceal his shivering, the the wobbling beam of the flashlight betrayed him.

"Phineas, your sleeping bag isn't working, is it." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Phineas deigned not to respond, but she knew that he agreed. Her instinct was to switch sleeping places, but she already knew what his answer would be. Still, she needed to try.

"If you're gonna get hypothermia—"

"You're n-not sleeping in there," he interjected rashly, exactly as Isabella had expected. He was so sweet, yet sometimes too stubborn for his own good. She sighed, but then remembered another idea from before.

"Maybe … maybe we could share the big one…" Isabella could hear his sharp intake of breath as he accustomed himself to the idea. She had thought of sharing the oversized bag before, thereby sharing body heat, but had been too worried to make any mention of it out of embarrassment. Now that this had elevated to a matter of survival, however, she needed to take that risk.

"It's okay with me, Phin," Isabella continued shyly when she got no response. She felt her face heating up as she walked back to her sleeping bag and slid in, enjoying the returned warmth. "I just want you to make it through the night."

Phineas still remained silent, but after a few seconds of hesitation, he took off his snow pants and scooted in next to her. She feel his shivering arms next to hers and hear his shaky breaths more clearly now. Under less extreme circumstances she would be enthralled by his presence, but she knew that this was in an effort to were a little cramped, but she preferred the word "cozy".

"Are y-you sure?" he asked for confirmation. One of his frigid legs brushed against hers and she initially cringed away. But no matter how much she tried to deny it, she had to admit that he might not survive the night in any other way.

"Ye—" She was cut off by a loud scraping noise, and without warning, the cave walls began to shake again. Isabella squeaked in fear and clung onto Phineas's freezing shirt. The second quake was less violent and ended only seconds later, but the prospect of more was beginning to haunt her.

"It's alright I-Izzy," Phineas comforted, patting her back lightly. "Let's j-just try to get some s-sleep. Isabella nodded and spoke very little, telling herself they needed to sleep as well, but she was really just embarrassed and trying to keep herself under control. Silence reigned and Phineas's shaking gradually ceased, and after a few minutes of quiet, Isabella was finally able to drift off to sleep.

~•~•~•~

Isabella awoke the next morning feeling sore and groggy, not surprisingly because of the tiresome day before. Her hips were already cramped from the hard stone floor she had had to sleep over. She had, however, managed to stay reasonably warm, which was the most important factor by far in this climate. She gradually recollected the events of the day before, not bothering to open her eyes yet, and felt a cool breeze brushing across her forehead.

_… How can a breeze run through our cave if there's only one opening? _she thought, perplexed. Isabella used her hands to rub her eyes, only to discover that they were pinned down. She cracked open her eyes, instead blinking rapidly to clear them, and was faced with a sea of orange fabric. Flummoxed, she glanced up and could make out a distinct, pointed shape lightly rising and falling inches from her. Enough light was filtering through the crevice opening to allow her to see clearly, but that didn't provide an explanation. And then it dawned on her: She had latched onto Phineas sometime during the night!

A mixture of excitement, anxiety, and embarrassment coursed through Isabella's veins as she realized the extent of the situation. She was _sleeping_ with Phineas, something she had only ever dreamed of doing! Still, it didn't feel right to remain there without his consent, and who knew how he would react once he woke up.

Isabella struggled to free her hands without disturbing Phineas, all the while fighting her involuntary, amorous urges. She managed to unpin one of them in a few seconds, but must have jerked too hard, for Phineas then moaned and turned over in his sleep, unconsciously imprisoning her other arm underneath him. One of his arms inadvertently flopped over her shoulder like a fat slug.

_Deep breaths, Izzy, deep breaths,_ she coached herself mentally, trying to keep a grip on her hormonally-crazed emotions. She tried wiggling free, but that made him grunt and she froze in fear of rousing him.

What was she supposed to do? Wake him up and die of awkwardness? Isabella was getting tired of propping herself up with one hand amidst mentally debating with herself. _Maybe I could just rest for a second and then figure out how to free myself…_ she slowly rationalized, _it's not like I'm taking advantage of him. After all, _he's _the one keeping me hostage_.

Her last thought was just ridiculous, but Isabella couldn't resist; she had _never_ had an opportunity like this before. Her heart thumping loudly, Isabella ever-so-slightly lowered her head onto Phineas's chest.

_I'm just resting my head, don't want to put too much strain on my neck … or my wrist…_ Isabella's excuses trailed off as she noticed Phineas's heartbeat. It was slower than her frantic one, calmly resounding throughout him in a relaxing sort of way. His chest rose and fell slightly with every breath. She lay there for a few minutes, not coming up with discreet thoughts but merely enjoying the serenity. It was very soothing, and she had begun to feel she could be content there forev—

Suddenly, Isabella was pulled out of her reverie, as she could feel her long hair being pulled back, rearranged. She jolted her head up, momentarily convinced that a small rat was trying to make a nest out of her precious locks, only to discover Phineas looking wide-eyed and astonished back at her, his hand frozen in mid-air.

"Phin, what are you doing?"

Phineas was back on his game in no time. He put his hand down and stared at her in mock annoyance. "Well good morning to you too, Miss Garcia-Shapiro! Such a rude girl," he jested sardonically, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Oh, how silly of me. Good morning, Mister Flynn!" Isabella replied sprightly, a small smile playing across her face. "Now what were you just doing with my hair?"

"Your hair was _slightly _all over my face. I thought you were asleep and was trying to fix it."

"I bet you just liked playing with my hair," she teased, swishing back her black locks for emphasis. She cocked her head at him enticingly and batted her eyelashes. "Isn't it _pretty_?"

"Maybe when it isn't in my mouth," Phineas rejoindered, earning a giggle out of her. "But what were _you _just doing? You looked pretty relaxed."

All this coquetry was making Isabella feel bold. "You're just _so nice and cozy_, Phin," she flirted, nuzzling her head into him once again. She felt him imperceptibly stiffen, which gave her a jolt of hope and elation. "Plus, you kind of trapped my arm." She wiggled it for emphasis, but then an evil grin crept up her face, and she began tickling him with her imprisoned arm.

"Are you trying to tickle my _back_, Izzy?" he asked, sniggering. She didn't reply. _Don't try, Izzy, you know better!_ her consciousness warned her, but Isabella didn't care. Without hesitation she sprang on him, tickling under his arm with her free hand.

She shouldn't have done it. Isabella knew Phineas wasn't very ticklish from _many_ previous experiences, yet she could never seem to resist. He let out a little laugh, perhaps just out of pity, rolled to the side, then firmly grasped her newly freed hands in his.

"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered mischievously, his eyes glinting deviously. A wave of panic hit Isabella and she struggled to escape his strong grip, but he held her down.

"Please no Phin, don't tickle m—" Isabella's pleas were cut off as he began furiously tickling her side! She exploded with laughter, twisting and turning to get away, but he gave her no mercy, grinning down at her eyes brimming with cheery tears. She fought to push him off, but his tantalizing fingers scurried up her waist to under her arms, making her squirm and laugh even harder. Tickling back was useless; Isabella lost it whenever she was being tormented in this way.

Just as she began to feel tears running down her red face, Isabella gave one strong kick forward and shot out of the sleeping bag like a bullet, then crawled away, still giggling quite hysterically. At a safe distance she gleefully turned back to see Phineas watching her smugly.

"_Now_ have you learned your lesson about tickling, Izzy?" he asked tenderly, sounding as though he was addressing a toddler. Isabella hiccuped and shook her head vigorously; she had never admitted so and never would. Tickle fights were just too much fun, even if she was sixteen and even if she always lost. And even though she would never admit it, whenever he spoke in that way to her, she felt as though her Phineas-Land fantasies were coming to life.

After her adrenaline had begun to normalize, Isabella found her coat and put it on because although she definitely felt warmer, it was still pretty cold. The ceiling was too low to effectively stretch, so she slipped on her boots and headed for entrance, making a wide arc around Phineas to avoid any more mischief.

Isabella took in her surroundings wholeheartedly as she walked out from their crevice. The perfect, clear blue sky, contrasting with the towering mountain peaks was stellar, and the far off forest looked like a nature-driven wonderland. The fresh snow crunched satisfyingly underneath her boots, and a warm chinook lightly ruffled her glimmering hair. The storm had delivered thick blanket of snow to the ground, but she barely noticed.

It was these moments Isabella loved about Phineas the most; he could make her feel like the happiest, luckiest girl alive, without even knowing it. His ability to completely turn around even the most awkward of situations was simply beyond her. She felt as if she were floating and allowed herself, for the moment, to forget how desperate of a situation they could be in.

Isabella sighed ecstatically and looked down at her feet, fantasizing about how she would most certainly live together with Phineas, forever, when she noticed something awry. A straight, narrow line ran through the snow not ten feet in front of her. A few feet away, another track ran parallel to the first, and both extended into the distance in both directions. Isabella stepped forward curiously, craning her neck to see if there was an end to these mysterious tracks. And then she made the connection.

"Phineas! Phineas, come here!" She hadn't meant to sound frantic, but must have gotten a little overexcited, for Phineas came bustling out of the cave like there was no tomorrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked intensely, surveying the clearing for danger. Seeing none, he approached Isabella apprehensively, still on the alert.

"It's not bad, it's good, silly!" Isabella told him jovially, giving him a playful push. She was still high on cloud nine. "Look!" she said, pointing towards the lines.

Phineas looked down and quickly understood. "Snowmobile tracks!" he exclaimed, a smile lighting up his face.

Isabella unexpectedly hugged him, bouncing with joy. "We've got to be near civilization, Phin!" she bubbled vivaciously, giving him a wide grin. "We can go home!

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**Well that was quick, wasn't it? They already have a way home. Or do they? Reviews are highly appreciated!**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

_******Sprightly •** 'brightly' with an 'sp' **• **Adjective  
_

_- animated or vivacious; lively_

Anybody seen Frozen? After Anna's dance with the Duke of Weselton, Elsa told her that her dance was sprightly. She was somewhat mocking how the Duke danced, being old yet lively (if you consider it that XD). From the story: "'Good morning, Mister Flynn!' Isabella replied sprightly." Isabella says this happily and a little excitedly because of his funny response and the situation they are in. Sprightly is just another way of saying happy and full of energy. One of my favorites :)

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

_**Loveyloo:**_** I'm glad you think the emotions were well-written :D What about in this chapter?**


	5. Pulling Together

**Now that I've been writing a slightly different genre of story, I'd love to hear your opinion. Do you like this action and mystery-oriented story more (still with a twist of romance), or is the fluffy-heaven-mania thing better?**

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Chapter 5: Pulling Together

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"Ferb, please, open up. I know it's difficult."

_You don't know the half of it,_ Ferb thought bitterly, crumpling up yet another blueprint and throwing it next to the overflowing wastebasket beside his desk. He had been adding to it all through the night, skipping both breakfast and lunch in his attempts to come up with something.

"We all want to help. We can work together."

_It's not that simple!_ he thought, scribbling down the same equation once again before vehemently scratching out the whole thing. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He was about ready to punch the wall out of frustration.

"Baljeet has another idea," Gretchen pleaded for the umpteenth time, her voice muffled through the locked bedroom door. "Maybe this one will do the trick."

It was the third day since Phineas and Isabella had gone missing. Three days since Ferb had last spoken to his brother, and he was being pushed to the limit. He had racked his brain over and over again in hopes of explaining how they could have _ceased to exist_, gone through every last idea and theory he and Phineas had ever devised, and yet his research amounted to nothing.

At first, Ferb went along with the rest of the group, reasoning that the go-to phone had inconveniently broken over years of wear and that Phineas and Isabella, wanting privacy, had snuck off to go on their first date. Everyone stayed together for the duration of the day, but did little more than sit in Ferb's living room quietly, as the missing pair had always led the group and given out instructions. When Linda asked them where their friends had gone, nobody could muster much more than "We don't know." Everyone seemed to be holding their breath and frequently glancing towards the front door as if expecting Phineas to march in audaciously with another activity for the trip, or Isabella, excited about a new service project to save the star-nosed moles. But it was all in vain. Vivian called after dinner, confused as to why Isabella hadn't come back yet or make any attempt to contact her, only to discover that her daughter hadn't been seen for hours. Ferb didn't sleep that night, didn't even go to his room, but instead listened to the faint, hurried whispers and urgent phone calls of his worried parents and waited for his brother to show.

The next morning, a panic-stricken Vivian came over, having driven through Danville for the second half the night in search of the lost pair. She and Ferb's parents bombarded him with questions; if they had been planning to spend the night somewhere or when he had last seen them, but he couldn't explain to them what had happened. They would never believe him. After an agreement, the adults called the police, but Ferb knew they wouldn't be any real help.

While law enforcement began investigating, the gang reassembled in their usual spot in the backyard. They were supposed to be traveling to Badbeard Lake that morning, but that would obviously have to be postponed. Everyone had theories for where Phineas and Isabella had gone or ideas for how they could find them, but when it came to executing them, nobody took charge. That was for Isabella, or for Phineas, or the pair of them together. Eventually, parts of the gang began working on separate projects, whether developing new technology to search with or physically checking and rechecking Isabella's favorite places, but without direction little was accomplished. Despite his attempts to clear his mind, Ferb's thoughts and concentration were greatly hindered from trepidation and worry.

That night, he had tried to invent several more machines that could locate or display their whereabouts on a screen, but something always seemed to go wrong and he still hadn't discovered the slightest hint as to what had become of his two best friends. They couldn't have been kidnapped, but the police were now officially calling the tragedy by that name. Ferb had finally resorted to locking himself in his room to discover the answer. He hadn't eaten for nearly 24 hours, as it was now dinner time.

Gretchen knocked again on the door. "Please, Ferb. Talk to me." Ferb knew how hard this must be for Gretchen. She was a quiet, intellectual girl, not at all used to demanding things from others. He knew she was just trying to help, but the fury boiling in him was too deep to stop him. Why did she even care? Ferb stood up abruptly, strode over to the door, and swung it open.

Gretchen stumbled in; apparently she had been leaning on the door before"You don't get it, do you?" Ferb nearly yelled as she regained in balance, "I. Can't. Do. This!" He emphasized every word into her petrified face. "I've never had issues with inventions not working before! Our inventions only succeed when we work together as a pair! For heaven's sake, I built a computer that triple-searched everywhere and everywhen in our entire _universe_, and not a single _speck_ of evidence revealed itself!"

Ferb was breathing hard, staring venomously at the ground beside Gretchen's trembling sneakers. He knew he was being horrendously irrational, especially for a Brit, but couldn't quite seem to look up or apologize. His fists clenched and unclenched as the vibrant memory of them writhing on the ground flashed through his mind once again.

"I-I can empathize with you," Gretchen finally said timidly, still trembling slightly but looking him in the eyes, "because I'm feeling the same way."

Ferb raised an eyebrow, but let her continue. Gretchen adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat, perhaps to sound more confident. "Phineas has always been your partner, inventing or not. He's always been there for you, always been the one to help you solve your inventing problems. … Isabella's just like that with me. She speaks for me, supports me in the group. She always has."

Gretchen paused, as if worried to continue, but Ferb could tell she had thought this out. After all, Gretchen thought out pretty much everything. "You know me, I'm … I'm _shy_. Isabella spreads my opinion for me and has always helped me stay in groups at school. I help her with organization and the intellectual parts of things, and she'll help me with my guy problems." Ferb detected the slightest hesitation in her voice as she finished her latter thought, the way her eyes flickered away from his. "But now Isabella's gone too. I don't feel confident in my actions without her support."

Ferf hadn't thought of that. He had been so upset about Phineas's disappearance that he hadn't even considered that others could be suffering as well. Shame began to creep up him as he realized that most of his friends probably felt the same way.

Gretchen was biting her lip. Ferb felt a small urge to apologize, but before he could do so, she continued. "We've known each other for years, and it's clear that you prefer using gesticulations to inferior verbal speech. I, too, enjoy using more … extravagant vocabulary than most teenagers our age, but not many of our peers can comprehend everything—"

"And so we stay quiet." Ferb finished for her. Gretchen nodded. He had known they had similar views on language use, but they had never formally talked about it. They had never privately talked about much anything.

"But even though we're not the loudest in our group, per se, I still believe that we're 'second-in-command'. Not to gloat, but we usually contribute more than our friends in each project."

"Like the stage crew running behind a broadway play," Ferb assented, thoughtful. "Not as noticeable, but critical nonetheless."

"I think that if we step out of our comfort zone, we can lead them. We usually depend on our closest friends for trouble, so why not depend on each other for a change?"

Ferb took a deep breath, then nodded his consent. _She's right,_ he thought, _We just need to work together._ Gretchen smiled at him, then turned to walk out, but he stopped her.

"Thank you, Gretchen," he told her, "for getting me back on track." Her smile widened.

Several minutes later, and after a well-needed stop at the kitchen, Ferb followed Gretchen into the backyard, still munching on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was now beginning to get dark out, but everyone was still in the backyard. Baljeet had a chalkboard and was scrambling down equations in a fashion similar to Ferb, Ginger was still creating "Lost" posters that would never work, and Buford and Adyson were just quarreling over who was stronger.

"There is _no way_ I'm believin' you can bench 200." Buford grunted at her, his arms folded squarely across his chest.

"Are you denying it because you _can't_, wimp?" she shot back, folding her arms to challenge him.

"Of course I can! Besides, you're just a girl, you can't even get pecs!"

"How would you know, you little—"

Ferb groaned. Over the years, Adyson and Buford had spent lots of time together, and while they had most certainly become good friends, their dominant personalities often clashed with each other, causing random and often hilarious arguments. But they couldn't afford to waste time now.

"Guys?" Gretchen called uncertainly from beside Ferb, but her voice was lost to Buford laughing scornfully at something Adyson must have said.

Ferb cleared his throat, and in a bold, military-like voice shouted, "Buford! Adyson!" The two jumped, not accustomed to Ferb's aggressive voice, and turned. Baljeet turned around as well; he now had everyone's attention.

"We need to buckle down and work together. Not on three projects, but on one. We can't deny that Phineas and Isabella are—" he had to pause, trying not to clench his fists "—gone, but it isn't doing any good to—"

He saw the sunlight glint off of something and reacted instinctively. Ferb bowled into Gretchen and knocked her into the fence as something came hurtling through the air, straight through the place Gretchen's head had been nanoseconds before, before impaling itself into a sleeping bag behind them with a thunk. A screech of tires sounded loudly from in front of the house, and they could hear a car's motor revving as it sped away.

Ferb apprehensively walked over to the still-vibrating projectile and examined it. It was a hammer,the type one would find in an everyday toolbox. Hastily crushed between the two nail prongs and sprawled out in messy writing was a paper with a message.

_They're in mortal danger. FIND DOOFE_

But the writing was cut off.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Are they in danger? Or are Phineas and Isabella? Or _everyone_?!**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

**_Gesticulation_ •** _'gest' (like gesture) + ic + u (like you) + 'lation' (like relation)_ _**• **Noun, verb_

_- a gesture, esp. a dramatic one, used instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words._

This word is the definition of Ferb. A gesticulation is another word for a body gesture; when Ferb shrugs his shoulders, he is displaying a gesticulation. This word is also a verb; when Ferb pointed towards Perry, you could say that he gesticulated, or showed body motion. Ferb gesticulates _everything_. From the story: "You prefer using gesticulations to inferior verbal speech." Gretchen observed that Ferb liked using body language much more than speaking; in other words, he preferred to gesticulate for communication.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

_**Loveyloo: Yeah I'm not much of a dark writer, have to keep it happy and fluffy :D**_


	6. Tedious Travel

**.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Tedious Travel

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An hour had passed since Isabella's discovery of the snowmobile tracks, and her anxiety from the previous night had been replaced with enthusiasm. Their breakfast of instant oatmeal and dried peaches only energized her further, and she was beginning to think that they were on an adventure rather than lost in the wilderness.

What Isabella was more pleased about, however, were Phineas's prodigious creations. While she had been stretching outside, he used the remains of the tattered sleeping bag to both construct backpacks for them and, once they came back inside, to substantially improve their less-than-reliable coats. He even made himself some thin snow pants after Isabella insisted he do so, and then he used the last of the bag's fluffy interior to fashion her a white scarf. The clothing was crudely made, not at all reflecting his usual workmanship, but Isabella knew he had done his best. After all, he had only sharp rocks and shoelaces to work with.

After finishing packing the couple set off, following the tracks towards the forest. Travel was much easier with their backpacks and they made excellent time considering the extra layer of snow. In addition, their improved clothing seemed to do the trick; neither Phineas nor Isabella had any more problems with shivering.

They were telling riddles to each other when Isabella finally got a good look at the forest. The trees were somewhat short, as one would expect from at such a high altitude, but they didn't look quite right. Phineas noticed as well and they quickened their pace towards the strange forest.

"What _are _those?" Phineas asked, once they had reached the edge of the forest. They could now see more mountains looming in the distance, partially covered with more forest, but Phineas was indicating the "trees" themselves. Thick, dark green tubes sprouted from the snow ground, completely straight and rigid. They had snowcapped, pointed tops and looked almost plasticy, faintly reminding Isabella of pine-green crayons.

"We never covered these trees in the Fireside girls," she replied curiously, straying a few yards from the tracks to approach one. She touched the smooth trunk and noted its unusual warmth. When she removed her hand from the tube, a dark imprint of her fingerprints remained, almost like finger paint.

"Cool!" exclaimed Phineas, tracing a triangle on the tree. Isabella giggled and added a body to the triangle, complete with a swimsuit and generous biceps. He rolled his eyes and traced next to the figure a semicircle with a ridiculously oversized body, obviously meant to be her.

Isabella's eyes glinted mischievously as Phineas chuckled away. The two of them were still so childish, yet that was what made their time together so fun. "Why you little…"

Isabella had meant to make a playful dive at Phineas into a nearby snowdrift, but at that precise moment, an immensely loud groan sounded from deep below, and once again, the ground began to shake virulently. She bowled into him unevenly, all excitement quashed as a loud series of cracks echoed through the air. A bolt of dark, uncontrollable fear exploded in her heart as the noise from the earth intensified. Isabella clung to him, her eyes wide with fright, as the ground gave a terrific jerk to the right and their tube-tree splintered. Her scream was nearly drowned out by the noise as it began to careen towards them, but Phineas acted fast and rolled them away nanoseconds before it crashed to the ground. And then everything became deathly still.

"Why d-do these keep happening?!" she asked perturbedly, her voice cracking as Phineas shakily helped her up. She kept glancing around frantically, as if expecting another series of formidable shocks. "This many earthquakes at once isn't normal, not even in the mountains," she said, more to herself than to Phineas. She was supposed to be the expert at these things, why couldn't she explain anything unusual?

_You need to stop flirting and pay attention,_ Isabella reprimanded herself angrily, _This situation is _life _or _death_, so stop treating it like it's a friendly stroll in the park!_

With nothing else to do there, Phineas and Isabella quickly resumed their trek, but neither felt like conversing anymore. Isabella's exuberance had been drained away with the earthquake, leaving her terse and uneasy just like she had been the day before. She was growing restless just thinking of when the next quake would start. Even Phineas, whose sole existence currently seemed to be to make her laugh, was unnaturally silent. The blue sky was slowly filled with grey clouds as they walked, and wispy fog once again began to settle thickly across the valley.

They had just stopped at an overturned tube-tree to eat lunch when it began to snow. It was only sprinkling, but Isabella felt as though her whole body had gone numb from disquietude, which was partially true. They were going to lose their trail to civilization.

Abandoning their lunch spot, the teenagers stole back to their trail at a heightened pace insomuch they were nearly jogging. They had to make it as far as possible before the tracks were lost to more snow. Isabella pushed herself onwards as they began trudging through deeper snow, although her energy was slowly ebbing away. When the snowfall thickened they began to run, but the tracks were becoming less and less clear until Isabella was squinting to find the parallel lines.

Phineas pressed on stubbornly for five more minutes before finally accepting that they had lost the trail. Both were gasping hard now, trying to avoid inhaling snowflakes while at the same time searching for any sign of the snowmobile. But it was hopeless; they were once again lost.

The couple ate their delayed lunch in miserable silence, then continued on in what they believed to be the direction of the snowmobile tracks. Their progress seemed much slower than before, making the next few hours drag by. They gradually drew away from the forest and progressed into a sort of canyon several hundred yards wide. Phineas still acted as the gentleman and helped her up steep climbs, but light pleasantries of "Please" and "Thank you" were the highlight of their trip.

All traces of happiness had now left Isabella; she wondered how she could have thought of this as an adventure before. She was getting tired of being constantly cold, hungry, and in danger of seismic activity. The protein bars in particular were getting to be much too gritty for her taste, yet they had little else to eat at this point. The snow had let up, replaced with more sunshine, but this did little to lighten her mood.

Phineas must have noticed her growing depression, however, and began making feeble attempts at conversation once again.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Isabella faltered, trying to think of what to tell him. In actuality, she had been speculating how many more earthquakes she would have to go through, but she didn't want Phineas to think she was scared.

"Just remembering the night we went to Preference together."

Phineas smiled at the memory. "Yeah, that really brought us closer together, didn't it?"

Isabella nodded, a tiny smile playing across her lips as well. Only a few months earlier she had finally gotten the courage to ask him out, and she couldn't remember having a more enjoyable night. The one-on-one chatting and teasing was fabulous and the slow dances heavenly. When she dropped him off that night, it was a bit of a letdown to learn he had only considered the date a friendly one, but she soon realized she should be grateful for the opportunity in the first place.

"And then I took you to Prom a few weeks later. Now _that _was fun."

"Hmm... I still think Preference was better."

He grinned. "That's only because you got to plan it out. Prom was obviously the best of the two. For instance, look at how I asked you compared to you *sarcastic cough* asking me."

"Hey! I spent an entire weekend sewing you that stuffed bear!"

"I can't _bear_ go to Preference without you?" Phineas laughed, making her blush furiously, yet lifting her spirits.

She pouted, or at least tried to hide her toothy grin. "That was creative, and I know it still sits on top of your bed! At least _I _didn't go way over the top and get the air force involved!"

It was true. Phineas had asked her to Prom as they got out of school with not one, not two, but _fifteen _automated fighter jets that wrote a message in the sky. Not just her name or a heart, but an entire paragraph of witty mots and an outline of her in a dress! Isabella had about died from happiness until it occurred to her that Phineas would think of this date the same as he had the last one, as friends. But then she realized, it didn't really matter. This would hopefully be the beginning to a lot more 'dating' with Phineas, and maybe one day, one of them would end romantically.

The terrain seemed to be getting craggier as they continued deeper into the canyon, and that combination with the fading sunlight was making their journey much more treacherous. The temperature was also dropping, and Isabella had to wrap her scarf around her neck tightly to keep warm. The couple continued their joking, but Isabella was beginning to wonder if they had guessed the right direction to travel, as the snowmobile would have a hard time maneuvering through this ravine. Still, with the level of snow it was possible, even if she and Phineas occasionally had to walk around large, inky black cracks in the earth. They stared into a particularly wide one, big enough that Isabella could not touch both sides if she had wanted, but there was too little sunlight left to see what laid below.

Traces of a brilliant, yellow sunset were just beginning to reveal themselves when Phineas popped the question. Or rather, he popped the statement.

"When we get home, we should go on some more dates."

Isabella did a double take. "Could you repeat that?" she asked.

"Well it looks like Izzy's ready for bed," he jested, smirking.

"Shut up. You just excited that you get to sleep with me some more," she shot back, her eyes flashing playfully.

"Yeah, that _is _pretty fun," he quipped, nudging Isabella and earning a light slap from her. He rolled his eyes.

"I said, we should go on another date sometime. We've only gone to dances and we're always together anyways, so why not?"

Isabella was both flattered and slightly disgruntled. "Phineas, do you understand _why_ people go on dates?" she inquired.

He turned around to help her up a rather steep and icy spot on the incline. "Yeah, so they can learn new things about each other. So they can go have fun, try new things."

She nodded, but then added, "People go on dates because they _like _each other. Like, _like like_ each other."

"Yeah, it's like hanging out on a new level."

"Not really." she retorted bluntly. "People date because they want to start a relationship, maybe even more." She had begun leaning towards him to emphasize her point.

"Yeah, sometimes that's a part of it too," he replied casually, watching rays of light streaking across the sky. He didn't get it.

"Not just sometimes. _Every _time." Not entirely true, but Isabella knew from experience that she had to spell it out. Phineas just looked confused.

Isabella sighed, then decided to change angles a bit. "Who do you like, Phin?" She was grateful she was older now; even two years ago, she wouldn't have been able to ask that without having a panic attack.

He perked up. "Why do you ask?"

"Well you just asked me out, and I'm a little confused…"

"Ooohh. Well like you said, I _am _trying to date you." He nudged her playfully and gave a very exaggerated wink, which she returned with a smirk. "I did fancy Adyson for a week or two last year, but that went away pretty fast. She's not like you."

_She's not like me? _She thought, mystified. Had Phineas been kidding when he nudged her, or was there a message in that? She hadn't really understood him. Did he like her or not? Did he even understand the concept of a date, or was it merely a private hangout?

"Who do _you_ like?" he asked back, throwing her even more off-guard.

"I umm... W-well I kind of like..." She was seriously considering just telling him casually when Phineas let out a gasp.

"Look at those!" he exclaimed, pointing at the sky. Isabella looked up and caught a glimpse of the matured sunset. Vibrant streaks of light appeared to be racing across the sky as the distant sun sank lower into the horizon, and a gradual aura of warm color filled the area—not yellow light, like before, but _silver_.

"Are those the Aurora borealis?" Isabella asked out loud. "The northern lights?" she explained when Phineas remained incognizant.

"I don't think so," he replied, screwing up his features as if to get a clearer view of the lights. "They don't look quite like the ones we've seen at the North Pole," he continued, referring one to their many trips to visit Santa. They stood there for a few moments, mystified by the brilliant lights streaking across the sky. They were mesmerizing.

And then, just as she was beginning to relax again, another tremor vibrated through ground. It lasted maybe a second, but it was enough to make Isabella whimper and grab Phineas's hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Sure," she lied, skirting a few jagged rocks with him, "It just surprised me, that's all."

It was almost too dark to walk and avoid the chasms in the ground now. "We need to settle somewhere soon," she added.

She waited for a second for Phineas to agree, but he hesitated. "This just doesn't make sense," he finally let out, making her raise her eyebrows. "Like you said earlier today, these severe earthquakes at such a frequent rate can't be explained by current theories, nor does that forest of an undoubtedly new and undiscovered species of trees make any sense. You don't recognize any of these mountains ranges either, and from my guess—" he paused to scale a small cliff then turned to help her up, "—The lack of any wildlife, even in a climate like this, isn't normal."

He paused for a moment. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think we're on Earth."

_Wait, what?_ she thought as what he said sank in. But then his reasoning began to make sense. Most other people would be astounded by his hypothesis, but she was so used to Phineas's bizarre yet astonishingly correct ideas that this one didn't seem even remotely out of the ordinary.

_How would we ever be able to leave this … _world _if we don't have any means of communication or equipment?_ she thought reluctantly. _That can't be possible. We're just on one of the more eerie islands in Canada or something. And near a faultline._

"But what about the snowmobile tracks? What about the atmosphere, wouldn't we be unable to breathe on another planet?"

"Those I still can't explain," he muttered, shaking his head, "Which is why this whole endeavor is just so perplexing. But the evidence of those lights have me convinced—I think we've been brought to an entirely new planet."

Isabella was about to remind Phineas of the harsh but bearable weather conditions—far more likely on Earth than an alien planet—when the true impact of Phineas's idea began taking its toll on her. If they had, indeed, been teleported to another undiscovered planet, millions of light years from their friends, then how _off _Earth were they going to make it back?

Isabella wondered if Gretchen and the Fireside girls could see the same lunar lights from the Tri-State Area. That would be unlikely, due to the city haze and lights, but the thought still gave her comfort. But then she remembered Phineas's claim, that they were not on Earth at all, and the well-needed comfort vanished.

"I don't know," she answered, as he was probably waiting for a response. "I don't want it to be true."

"Neither do I," Phineas concurred. "I don't expect you to support me. I just think that perhaps we should be a little more careful while we look for civilization. Maybe other humans found this planet first."

Isabella was feeling the same way, and they quickly agreed that if they discovered anything new or unusual, including plants, animals, and even rocks, that they would examine them together for added safety.

At this point the alien lights had faded and it was too dark to see more than a few feet away, and they discovered that there was either a new moon—the opposite of a full moon—or that there was no moon orbiting this planet all. A sheer wind began to blow through the canyon, but as they began searching for shelter, Isabella felt Phineas's fingers intertwine with hers.

* * *

**"How _off _Earth were they going to get back?" Did anyone appreciate this horrendous pun as much as I did?! BD :D I want your honest opinion on the chapter, feel free to tell me how to write better!**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

******_Reprimand_ •** _Rep + ri + mand **• **Verb_

_- to speak at angrily for something done wrong; to rebuke, esp. formally. _

This word is a little hard to understand in the dictionaries, but I think of it as getting after someone and telling them off when they did something wrong. If a mother catches her son drawing on the wall, then she would _reprimand_ her son for his mischief. This is also used in courts to reprimand people of things they've done wrong. From the story: "_You need to stop flirting and pay attention,_ Isabella reprimanded herself angrily, _This situation is _life _or _death." Isabella was angry at herself for not taking their trek seriously, and she was reprimanding herself for it.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

_**Guest: **_**I'm glad the word of the week isn't a waste of time!**

_**Heinz Doofensmi: Lol that's a possibility, but who knows?**_

_**8 Bit Mario: **_**Good guessing, some things you suggested were already in here!****  
**


	7. The Note

**Sorry for the slight delay, and happy late pi day everyone! I'll let you know that I have 75 digits memorized ;) The next update will probably be Saturday.**

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Chapter 7: The Note

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Ten minutes after the hammer incident, Ferb and the others had gathered in the living room. While it was slightly unnerving that someone had posed a threat to their group, everyone seemed eager by because of the new piece of information.

"It's hard to say, but I don't really think they were our enemies," Gretchen said inquisitively. She had remained remarkably unphased from her near-death experience and was already disputing the source of the message.

"N-not enemies?!" Buford spluttered, looking at her in disbelief. "Somebody just threw a hammer at your face, Brain Jane! I think that's a pretty good indicator of opposition."

'Brain Jane' was Buford's nickname for Gretchen, relating to her shining intellect in school. He had created names for most of the Fireside girls as they began to hang out more, not just working on group projects. Ferb didn't think Gretchen was particularly fond of his name for her.

"Yes, but the message doesn't make sense. Why would the kidnappers, if that's who they are, write 'They're in mortal danger' as if we need to redouble our efforts to find them? Sure, they could be trying to scare us, but then I think they would have worded it more menacingly."

"But if they weren't trying to hurt one of us," Baljeet inquired, "then why didn't they just come in and talk to us in person? What's the harm in meeting together?" Ginger seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"I haven't quite figured that part out yet." Gretchen admitted, her eyebrows slightly contorted with concentration. "Maybe they had to leave quickly and couldn't confront us in person…"

It was a weak argument, but then she perked up with another idea. "From my understanding, you guys are supposing that Phineas and Isabella have been kidnapped, right?" Buford, Ginger, and Baljeet gave somewhat unconvincing nods. "And why do kidnappers usually send messages to the hostages' loved ones?

Everyone stared at her blankly. Ferb had a faint inkling of what she meant, however, and even though he wasn't sure where he stood on this issue, he decided to help her out.

"Because they want a ransom?" he offered, raising his eyebrows. She nodded justly.

"But that note wasn't demanding money or blueprints in exchange for Isabella and Phineas," she said. "It didn't even mention that our friends were prisoners, only that they were in danger. And then—" Gretchen leaned forward to indicate the messy writing on the note "—it says "Find Doofe". That's obviously a command, but to me it seems more like advice than a threat."

"What if the note's from Phineas?" Adyson piped up, "Maybe the hammer's supposed to symbolize him and how he builds things!" She seemed fairly smug at her idea, but Ferb secretly felt Phineas was more of an "electric drill" person. Yet it _was _a little odd to deliver a message with a hammer.

"It couldn't have been," he replied, trying not to offend her, "because for all we know they're not even in our universe. This may sound arbitrary, but perhaps the _they _just needed something heavy that could deliver a message, so they used a hammer."

Baljeet and Buford were processing this information and silence reigned for a moment. Gretchen's claim made sense to Ferb; the note wasn't particularly threatening, and unless the 'enemies'—if they even existed—were playing a trick on them, it seemed more likely to come from some sort of ally. The attempt on Gretchen's life was a slight blow to her theory, but perhaps it was only a mistake.

As Ferb was considering this, he felt something rubbing against his pant leg. Perry was nuzzling his foot, begging to be petted as always. Ferb absentmindedly leaned down and stroked the platypus, still concentrating on Gretchen's idea, when for a split second, he thought he saw Perry's facial expression change. A slight widening of his normally unfocused eyes as he looked at the note beside Gretchen, a nearly imperceptible sense of … recognition? But when he looked again, Perry was just staring blankly ahead, making a low purring noise. And then, apparently satisfied, he scampered away, out of sight. Ferb scratched his head. _Platypi sure are strange._

"Okay," consented Baljeet, pulling Ferb out of his thoughts, "We just don't have enough information to really understand what's going on. But I think Gretchen has a point, so maybe we should just follow the note's instructions and see what happens."

"Agreed," Ferb said, a little uncomfortable at directing the conversation even with his best friends. "Is everyone okay with this?" He knew that they needed to be unified, not arguing, in order to make progress. Luckily, everyone was nodding their heads, even if Buford was rather acquiescent.

"Then we need to find whoever or whatever Doofe is then," he said. "Does anybody have any clue what that means?" Ferb felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue, as if he had known it before.

"Could it be our old mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz, the one who retired a few years ago?" Gretchen straightaway responded, probably having thought this out ages ago.

"Aaaannndd ol' Brain Jane strikes again!" Buford hollered, earning a light punch from Adyson. "We'd never get anything done without her!" Gretchen ignored this.

"But Doofenshmirtz is a somewhat common name in the Tri-State area," she continued, "So it might not be our ex-mayor. And," she said, doing a quick map search on her smartphone, "there are even a few nearby buildings whose titles begin with 'Doof'. "There are a lot of items to cover."

"Do you think Phineas and Isabella could be at this Doofenshmirtz place?" Ginger asked hopefully, but Ferb didn't think it was that simple. He and Gretchen had discussed potential opposition interfering with their technology and blocking their search attempts, thus opening the possibility that their friends were still nearby, but the 'enemies' would have to be pretty ingenious to combat Ferb's programming skills. When nobody responded, Ginger's expression fell, but she understood that this was highly unlikely.

Gretchen spoke up, maybe trying to end the awkward pause. "I say we should start with mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz because he's the most prominent fig—hey!" Ferb glanced to the side to see Perry bolting away, Gretchen's smartphone clasped firmly in his duckbill mouth.

"Perry!" Ferb exclaimed, bewildered. _Why would he do that?_ he thought, bewildered, as he got up to chase down the thief. But just as he was about to round the corner where he had disappeared, the platypus came back, furiously dragging what looked like a thick book behind him. Ferb was so confused that he didn't even think to grab Perry, and followed him back to his circle of friends.

"What _is_ that?" Ginger asked, voicing everyone else's question for them. The pages were very thin, and printed over the cover were the words "Danville Communications 2011". Everyone stared at the book in confusion until Baljeet let out,

"Oh, it's a _phone book_!"

"A _what_?" Ginger asked again, in the tone implying he had just spoke nonsense. Buford and Adyson sniggered.

"A phone book," Gretchen confirmed, "It's a stockpile of all the phone numbers and businesses in a city. We don't need them much now that everything's online, but at least this one's not too outdated."

"Does Perry want us to use the phone book to look up Doofe or something?" Ginger asked for the third time. They all turned to stare at the platypus, but he looked as dormant as ever, standing absolutely still without effort. Ferb slowly opened the foreign phone book and turned to the D's.

_Donald's Hair Treatment … Dong Doorbells … Doofenshmirtz Abandoned Self Storage …_

But he didn't need to read any farther, as it was obvious. Dramatically surrounded by thick, red marker and obstructing the entries around it was Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.

"Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated?" Ginger repeated in disbelief. "What kind of nutjob would make a company about _evil_?

"I don't understand his incentive either," Gretchen agreed, "But our Fireside girls' troop used to deliver cookies there, remember?"

Ferb was still flabbergasted at Perry's actions. Had he, an simple platypus, just demonstrated a real act of intelligence? Perry was now completely incognizant, as usual, but could he have understood their conversation, noticed the absence of one of his owners and tried to act?

As a matter of fact, Perry _had _been acting different in the last few months. Ferb was obviously in school up until a week ago and didn't get to see much of his pet, but even though platypi were supposed to be completely mindless, and Perry normally modeled that description to perfection, he occasionally seemed … lazier? A little depressed, maybe? For one, he rarely went missing anymore; they had repeated "Where's Perry?" many times now out of sheer habit, only to discover him lounging in his pet-bed in the house.

Ferb tuned out the others' discussion and research about the encircled phone book entry and gently picked up the platypus he knew so well. Perry stared blankly at the spot where Ferb's neck might have been, but perhaps there was something more there. Ferb felt remarkably silly for attempting such a thing, but he peered into Perry's clouded eyes and slowly whispered,

"Do you understand me?"

Perry blinked, and let out his signature gnawing noise. It was enough of an answer for Ferb. He was foolish for thinking, even for a second, that his platypus could exhibit any higher reasoning. Perry had, after all, misbehaved once or twice before; this was just an unusual coinciding of events. As for the red circling, perhaps their 'allies', or whoever they were, had gained access to the phone book sometime earlier.

Amidst Ferb's experiment, the rest of the group agreed that they should follow the note's instructions and see, as they had nothing to lose.

"Here is is," Gretchen said, having located Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated on a map on her apparently returned phone and showing it to everybody. "It's only a few minutes drive from here, in downtown Danville."

"Do we need to, you know, protect ourselves?" Buford asked, "Because it might be a trap?"

Ferb thought about this, but it seemed overkill to get all worked up over visiting a simple building.

"All of us girls have pepper spray," Adyson said, somewhat settling his concerns.

Ferb nodded his assent at the idea, and then, remembering that he needed to help lead, finished, "Alright, let's go see tomorrow morning. We have phones in case of an emergency. Maybe we can learn something."

* * *

**I don't know how long I can keep writing this story, as I just have higher priorities in life. I have a couple more chapters to release every week, and hopefully then I'll have more written, but this will probably be my last major PnF story. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

_******Incognizant •** In +_ _c**o**g + nizint _**•**_Adjective  
_

_- lacking knowledge or awareness; unaware._

For all you writers who love using the word 'oblivious' to describe Phineas, this is a good substitute. Not in every case, but in several. Incognizant is somewhat like the opposite of 'recognize'. If you recognize something, you become more aware of it. In contrast, if you _don't _recognize something (like Phineas not recognizing Isabella's hints), you are incognizant, or unaware. From the story: "Perry was now completely incognizant, as usual." After acting intelligent and stealing Gretchen's phone, Perry seemed as though it had never happened and he was still a simple platypus; thus, he was incognizant of his prior action.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

_**Sadie**_**: Thank you very much! Yeah, vocab can really spice up stories, can't it?**

_**bomb: **_**What makes you think that? I'm still updating, just a little late!**

_**Andrew: **_**I might write a book, but not for several years!**


	8. Traces of Civilization

**I literally _just_ got a yes from the girl I asked to Prom ;DDD**

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Chapter 8: Traces of Civilization

* * *

"—And then the turbines would convert the bananas' rich stores of potassium into pure electricity, hundreds of times more effective than nuclear power, and much less dangerous, too!" Isabella felt her lips twitch upwards, and had the faintest urge to laugh at Phineas's nerdy fascination with physics and electricity. Not even she, knowledgeable ex-leader of the Fireside girls, understood even half of Phineas's technical jargon when he went into inventor mode. However, she couldn't bring herself to smile. She accepted Phineas's helping hand to climb over yet another upturned tube-tree, not looking him in the eye.

They had been in the same canyon for nearly 3 days now, and Isabella's morale was deteriorating. They had managed to find many more abnormally large crevices in the side of the valley—Phineas reasoned that the crevices must have been created by earthquakes—but not even sharing the sleeping bag with Phineas had lightened her mood. At night they had tried to build a fire with the tube-trees, but not a single branch could be found and the plasticy green surface of the trees was too hard and obviously not wood. At least their sleeping bag could withstand the cold; they probably wouldn't have survived the first night without it.

Two more earthquakes had surprised them during the previous night, the latter of which triggering an avalanche that made it nearly impossible to make it out of their crevice a few hours later. Isabella hadn't slept a wink and was surprised her fearful shaking hadn't kept up Phineas as well. Her initial concern had developed into what she convinced was seismophobia, or in short, a serious fear of earthquakes. After all, they had never experienced an earthquake in Danville before. Plus, she wasn't exactly at home in a foreign planet with potential alien species lurking around.

And on top of that, they had already used up half of their food. If they couldn't get help in another three days, they would have to go hungry.

Phineas, unlike Isabella, had quickly recovered from the previous day's bad luck, and was already back to exuberantly explaining his latest energy idea to her as if they weren't in mortal peril. He seemed completely oblivious to her serious anxiety and was happy, even jubilant.

"And what will you do with the leftover bananas?" she asked, more to fuel his optimism than to actually understand the concept of "banana-tricity".

"Oh!" he exclaimed, his blue eyes flashing vivaciously, "It's simple, really! We just truck the peels off to the compressing facility, then load them into…"

_That'll keep him going for a while,_ Isabella thought mischieviously, sporting a slight grin as Phineas made some technical reference about pressurized bananas. But even though she tried to listen and show interest, she was much too on edge to catch more than a few words at a time.

Even as her mind wandered in and out of Phineas-land as it often did, Isabella couldn't force out her growing feeling of dread. She was trying to become light spirited and happy like her partner, perhaps even engage in the one-sided conversation, but fear was holding her back. She just wished they could be home. She had given up hope that Ferb and the others would find and rescue them, even if Phineas kept repeating it to her.

The weather wasn't helping. A brisk wind was had picked up, and with only one direction to go in such a narrow canyon, it seemed to double in strength and frigidity. Thus, Isabella had to fold her arms tightly around herself to stay warm. The sweat lightly beading on her forehead would sometimes freeze before she could use her coat to rub it off.

As they walked, the walls of the ravine they were in grew smaller and smaller until they drew away and opened up to a huge, new expanse of lightly blanketed snow. It was covered with more of the deep, ominous cracks zigzagging across the ground and she was trying not to imagine slimy green aliens creeping out of them to attack. Phineas seemed optimistic about the new change of scene, but Isabella felt strangely sick to her stomach at the prospect of being so targetable and helpless, even if they would be easier for rescuers to spot. She had grown used to the canyon's claustrophobic feeling and wasn't ready to give it up yet.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" Phineas suddenly asked out of the blue. Isabella's eyes snapped to his instinctively, but she kept biting her lip to cope with the stress. _Tell him!_ she yelled at herself inwardly, but for some reason, perhaps because she wanted to show courage, she just nodded her head vaguely. She was still trying to be the fearless leader and couldn't let herself look weak. _Especially _in front of Phineas.

Over time, the clouds diminished into light wisps, but Isabella's distress only grew stronger. She was beginning to feel as if hundreds of eyes were watching her from just out of sight, and frequently spun around to face nothing. She glanced over at Phineas in hopes of some sort of comfort, but he was once again completely incognizant.

The wide ravines they were encountering now were only making it worse. Phineas wanted to peer down one and examine what lay below, but Isabella wouldn't go near it and pulled him away in fright. She could feel herself going slightly schizophrenic, remembering some of the symptoms from her health class, but couldn't bring herself to encroach upon Phineas's happy mood. So instead, she just followed him, pining to hold his warm hand.

Just as Phineas began explaining his favorite type of screw, Isabella heard something snap behind them—or had she imagined it?—and spun around breathlessly. Something was out to get her, and she knew it. Her breath was beginning to come out in heavy pants.

Phineas finally took notice of her less-than-happy behavior. He turned around, eyes filling with confusion at the sight of her petrified look. "Are you sure you're doing alright, Izzy?" he asked.

Isabella was trying to convince herself to answer him, but when she was almost ready his attention was again drawn away. "Is that _smoke_?!" he said eagerly, pointing far away into the sky.

Sure enough, an unnatural column of grey-white smoke was drifting up to their far left. The source was hidden beyond a set of rolling hills, but Isabella knew it couldn't be more than a few miles away. A part of her felt relieved and excited to have an obvious destination.

A puff of smoke wasn't enough to calm her attitude, however. Not when Isabella was seeing things in the corners of her eyes. A shadow passed over them, and she couldn't contain her cry of fear. She felt as though everything was slowly closing in on her, as if the huge plains around them were being folded in half like a book.

"It's only a cloud," Phineas commented nonchalantly, raising his eyebrow imperceptibly at her. Isabella took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself, trying to tell herself that this was not how an ex-Fireside girl should behave, but at that moment, the most minute of tremors gave the ground a tiny vibration.

"No, no no!" she whimpered, grabbing Phineas's hand and expecting the worst. A slightly stronger shake came next, but despite its subtlety, Isabella let out a scream of absolute terror and fell into a fetal position on the icy ground. She couldn't take any more earthquakes. She would rather die than endure through even one more.

No more shocks disturbed the craggy plains, but she continued trembling, whimpering uncontrollably. Suddenly the ground shattered, literally shattered, as a gaping crack opened up directly under Phineas's legs. He cried out as he slipped and fell into the crevice, sending a dagger into Isabella's heart. She screamed again as the ground beneath her tilted and she began to slide towards the crack. Then a purplish slime began bubbling out of the crack, inching closer and closer to her fear-struck form until—

Somebody was shaking her. "Isabella, what's wrong?!" Phineas shouted, in a quandary. She was back to the real world, still clutching herself on the firm, solid ground. Her hallucinations were going extreme.

Isabella wanted to give up and sink into the ground right then and there. She couldn't take any more of this drama, not alone.

"Are you shivering, are you too cold? Do you need to take a break? —Ooohh…" A look of sympathy swept over Phineas as he began to fathom her concerns. "Izzy, are you afraid? … Afraid of the earthquakes?" he asked her not sarcastically, not jestingly, but _gently_. She didn't reply, every muscle in her body still quivering with fright. He knelt down and reached out to touch her arm, looking sweetly concerned.

Isabella felt her lower lip wobbling and nodded weakly, moving forward into him. She fell apart in his strong embrace, her racing heartbeat failing to slow down. He pulled her up to stand but continued to hold her.

"I d-don't want to b-be here, Phin," Isabella got out, her voice cracking. She felt tears streaming down her face and barely stifled a panic-stricken sob. "I want to g-go home." She was very near her breaking point.

Phineas said nothing, but began to caress her trembling shoulders, and for a moment they just stood there. Isabella could barely keep her balance and leaned into him, but he held her up in his tight embrace. The small, sane part of her mind scrutinized her for wasting valuable time and for showing so much weakness, but she desperately needed the comfort.

With this simple act of kindness, Isabella could feel all her doubt and worry draining away into the snow. His warm friendship and love was replacing the coldness and fear that had been there before. With his protection, she felt as though a weight was being lifted from her shoulders.

Several moments later, Isabella reluctantly pulled away, having finally regained some of her composure. She began to straighten her disheveled hair and, mustering up all the emotional strength she had, gave Phineas the tiniest, yet most genuine smile of gratitude.

"Better?" he asked simply. She nodded again and blinked once, her eyes glued to his.

"Has you been like this all morning?" he inquired again, and she let out a feeble "Mhmm" in response. Phineas looked crestfallen. "_Please_ tell me if something's bothering you," he pleaded, "I'm not very good at noticing some things."

He paused for a moment, trying to be sincere. "We can talk about it, that's what I'm here for. I'm not going to laugh at you, Izzy, it's really okay." His cheeks reddened slightly, and it took a few seconds for him to continue. "I know this is really corny, but … Being together with you has made me realize that... I can't express how much I care about you, and if something were to happen—"

He broke off, apparently embarrassed, but Isabella was touched. She felt a tear welling up in her eye, but didn't bother to wipe it away. Without so much as a single thought going through her brain, she leaned up on her tippy-toes and gave him soft kiss on the cheek.

"I hope you know that I love you, Phineas," Isabella told him, feeling the tear roll down her face. She wasn't trying to reveal her ever-present crush to him, wasn't confessing her undying love for him at long last. She simply wanted him to know, at that moment, how much she appreciated his heartwarming friendship.

Phineas hugged her again, and she melted into his sturdy frame. "I love you more," he whispered endearingly, making the butterflies in her stomach positively burst with elation.

The aura had changed to that of serenity. Isabella no longer felt a sliver of worry, but was instead severely struggling not to kiss Phineas right then and there. A _real _kiss. Even the weather seemed to be cooperating, with huge, perfect snowflakes beginning to fall all around them. _I wouldn't care if we got home,_ she thought impetuously, _If I could stay with Phineas like this forever._

But alas, _forever_ turned out to be only a few minutes. Whilst enjoying her best friend's comfort, Isabella began to hear a faint buzzing noise. She lifted her head from his warm chest, looking for a fly to swat, only to remember that no insects lived here. The buzzing grew continually louder, and she disentangled herself from Phineas to find its origin.

Phineas saw it first, and nudged her to look. Isabella's jaw fell open.

Far to their right, two jet-black snowmobiles were speeding across the snowy plains, spewing up long tails of snow behind them. They looked huge even from a distance, and could definitely carry two, if not three people each.

The two watched in petrified silence as the two snowmobiles continued skiing over the snow, and away … from … them. Finally breaking out of their trance, they turned their heads to look wide eyed at each other, and in an unspoken agreement, knew what to do.

"Hey! HEY! Over here! HELP!"

Phineas and Isabella bolted towards the distant machines, waving their arms and yelling wildly to get attention. They ripped off their makeshift backpacks as they ran, and in a moment, were sprinting as fast as possible through the snow, shouting all the while. They made little effort to avoid the crevices in the ground, even jumping a rather small one.

The pair ran and ran, trying to get the riders' attention for nearly a full minute, but despite their efforts, the snowmobiles got smaller and smaller, and slowly faded into the growing snowfall. They kept chasing, but it was for nothing.

Isabella slowly stopped running and buckled over, gasping for breath, but still desperately searching for the black objects.

"Help..." she faintly called one last time, her shoulders slumping in defeat. They had missed their golden opportunity. Now she were even more exhausted, on top of cold, hungry, and—aside from the couple's previous moment—depressed. Isabella let out a small whimper and stared at her pathetic snow-covered boots.

"Hey," Phineas started, trying to cheer her up. But he couldn't think of anything else to say; he probably wasn't feeling any better.

"...At least we know where their camp is," he finally muttered in an attempt to make her feel better. It didn't work.

Isabella looked up to eye him angrily, then turned to walk back to retrieve their meager belongings. The mutual happiness and elation had dissipated, replaced with disappointment. Phineas sighed and hurried to catch up to her. He was always trying to be happy and optimistic, but that was _not_ going to work this time.

They had only gone a few feet, however, when Isabella sensed something. Looking back once more, she saw … nothing.

And then, out of the snow, came the two snowmobiles, traveling directly towards them! Isabella nearly shrieked with excitement, causing Phineas to turn around as well.

"They're coming! We're getting saved!" she gasped in relief. She literally couldn't believe it. She had gone angry and defeated in one second to shocked, ecstatic, and once again, nearly emotional in the next. Phineas was excited too, and let out a shout and fist-pump of victory. They were going home.

Isabella watched as the objects speedily approached them from afar, her eyes brimming with even more tears, then turned back to Phineas, ready to hug him, even kiss him. But Phineas's expression of excitement was gone.

"What's wro-"

"Shh." he interrupted abruptly, startling her. He was again staring at their rescuers, listening. _Isn't he overjoyed too?_ she thought. But surely there had to be a reason for him behaving like that, so Isabella listened as well.

Along with a steadily increasing hum of the two motors was a succession of little patters. No, not patters, more like cracks. And then they stopped. _One of the engines is probably malfunctioning, _Isabella thought, _Good thing Phineas is here to fix it._

"Something's not right," he said slowly, staring fixedly at the snowmobiles. Isabella was about to raise an eyebrow at him when the cracks started again, and she was interrupted by a slightly louder whizz and pop.

Isabella heard a sharp gasp, and then Phineas slammed into her, knocking them onto the cracked dirt. His torso battered into her side painfully before he crawled off, pressing his face against the blanket of snow.

"What are you-"

"They're shooting at us!" he whispered furiously, gritting his teeth in concentration.

"They're wha-"

"Be quiet!" he snapped, listening intently. Isabella recoiled, as Phineas _never_ barked at her like that. But as they lay, Isabella gasping in pain from her bruised waist, the gravity of Phineas's claim began to crash down on her. They were getting _shot _at? Their rescuers were trying to _kill _them?

It suddenly occurred to Isabella that the noises and cracks they had been hearing weren't from a sputtering engine, but _gunshots_. Panic shot through her veins, but Phineas sensed that she was about to hyperventilate and grabbed her.

'No!" he whispered maliciously, his eyes full of temerity. "Get a grip Isabella, we have to run!" He stole a glance up and saw that the enemy snowmobiles had stopped moving. They were backtracking to avoid a wide ravine that cut across their path, but would be around in another minute to get them.

"Now! Run, RUN!" Phineas yelled, pulling her up harshly and booking it away. Isabella sprinted after him, willing herself more energy even though she had depleted most of it. She shot a glance back at their pursuers and saw that they were gaining quickly, having found a way past the last ravine. She felt a bullet whizz by her ear as her muscles screaming in protest. But there was nowhere to run. They were in the middle of a several mile-wide field, with no escape routes or cover.

Isabella looked back once more, and saw that the snowmobiles were nearly upon them. She could now see another man on each, reloading terrifyingly big guns. They were going to die. These people were going to murder them for absolutely no reason—

Suddenly, Isabella heard a strangled cry of terror, and looked forward to see Phineas disappearing from sight into the ground.

Isabella's horror was paramount. "No!" she screamed, and without another thought, she dived in after him and plummeted into a horrendously deep, dark ravine.

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**Cliffhangers. Love 'em, don't ya?! These chapters keep getting longer...**

******Please review if you enjoyed it, I always respond :)**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

_******Paramount •** Pear + a + mount_**• **_Adjective  
_

_- supreme; more important than anything else._

Something paramount is something of utmost importance or something to the highest degree. This word can also be used to describe leadership positions. For example, a president of presidents could be referred to as the paramount president. From the story: "Isabella's horror was paramount." She had just seen Phineas falling into a ravine, and because him dying was one of the scariest things she could imagine, her horror was paramount, or the most extreme possible.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

**_Disney Channel: _I have one a disclaimer at the beginning and it explicitly states that it applies to every chapter in the story, so I think I'm good ;)**


	9. The Ravine

**Wow**,** thanks for all the reviews guys! It's like Christmas Bliss quantity all over again :D**

**I have an announcement:**

I need to leave Fanfiction. Not right this second, just soon. It's just taking too much time from my life, especially from dating and practicing other talents. I've had an awesome time here writing and reading stories, and definitely learning and making friends, but I've been in the PnF section for long enough. Don't worry, **I still have a few more chapters to post**, but I do have a possible job offering for someone:

There are still a few final chapters of this story that I have planned out, but have _not_ yet written. I have an idea of what will happen, and there are a few key events that will take place, but there are still lots of decisions to make. What I'm asking is, when I leave, **Would anyone like to finish writing Frozen Reality for me****?** This is just an idea of mine, and I will be picky on who can write it (I know which authors can write quality chapters and which ones need more experience). Again, I already know what will happen; you can just add your own creativity to it. PM you if you're interested.**  
**

**Before we get to the good stuff, there's one thing I need to make clear: Yes, Phineas loves Isabella. But not in the romantic way, more of how a brother loves his sister. Even though they had a little moment in the last chapter, they're not together. It was a friendship type of thing, no matter how much Isabella would have liked it the other way ;)**

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Chapter 9: The Ravine

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Isabella's scream was sucked out of her as she hurtled into into the pitch black ravine, scrabbling and slashing at the icy, rough stone walls in a desperate attempt to stop herself. The cold air streaked past her face like a cold branding iron, and her hair whipped violently around her. Her hand chafed against a sharp rock wall as she fell, but she barely registered it, more intent on her life flashing before her eyes.

But her life wasn't flashing before her eyes. She was just plummeting ever downwards, time seeming to pass on forever as she picked up speed. No regrets coursed through her, no wishes, no pleadings. Just the darkness swallowing her into its midst.

And then, only seconds later—though it felt like minutes—Isabella felt herself collide with the crevice floor. Except, it wasn't a floor.

With a tremendous splash, Isabella was submerged in a warm underground river, her momentum pulling her deep under the water. Her eyes shot open to see nothing but black water, and she fought to swim upwards. But she couldn't tell which direction was up and kept tumbling through the water until she spotted the faint sliver of light coming from the sky high above her.

Isabella felt herself going dizzy, yet she still swam towards the light. But it was fading, and she had gone so far under. The strong currents forced her into an underwater somersault, but then, with a huge gasp, she finally found the river's surface and looked around blindly for anything to hold on to. Her arm hit a side of the ravine, but it was too slippery to find a handhold, and once again, she was sucked under. She gasped again and swallowed water, and she felt a sharp rock slash across her stomach, creating a fresh wave of pain.

Somebody let out a yell just as Isabella bobbed up to the surface again, being pulled into a faster current. She was thrown down a small waterfall and was pushed under yet again, and amidst trying to reach the surface, her head slammed into a solid wall of rock. Her racing thoughts of survival were immediately wiped out and replaced with a lungs screamed for oxygen, but her weak, throbbing muscles weren't strong enough to bring herself to the surface. Her thick winter clothing was pulling her down and was zipped up too tightly to shake off. With a final, faltering stroke, Isabella felt herself begin to drift into the river's depths.

But then, Isabella was jerked upwards, being pulled around her waist by some unknown force. Seconds later, she broke the surface, coughing up water and sucking in deep breaths of clean air. Somebody was yelling something, but it was hard to make out. She dipped under the surface again but was forced back up.

"Swim, Izzy, swim!" Isabella finally understood the distant, strangled voice, and she obeyed. One by one, she forced her heavy, flailing arms and legs to propel herself forwards, and willed herself to continue. She got another breath of air and continued, thinking of nothing but going on. She swam and swam, tilting her head to breathe between strokes.

All of a sudden, the raging waters began to spiral downwards and Isabella felt her body beginning to tumble down a turbulent, much larger waterfall. It was too dark to see much anything and her arms fell uselessly before she landed in the river below, narrowly missing a jutting rock.

Isabella felt herself shutting down. Her muscles were losing feeling, now only subject to the occasional spasm of dull pain, and so much water had trickled into her lungs that most breaths were stifled by fits of hoarse coughing. She couldn't tell whether the water was hot or cold anymore, but it was sapping away at her energy. Her mind was going fuzzy, almost in a peaceful sort of way, and she had the urge to just stop and enjoy it. It felt _nice_, relaxing.

But just as she was letting her eyelids close one last time, Isabella saw a sliver of bright light even from under the water. Without thinking, without even remembering the slightest reason why anymore, she swam towards the light. _Left arm. Right arm. Breath. Left arm. Right arm. Breath._

After what seemed like hours, Isabella felt a smooth rock coming up beneath her, and let herself pancake onto the shore. Somebody was dragging her out of the water while her own body lay limp. And then she was out of the water and shrouded in dazzling sunlight, coughing and spluttering for fresh air and laying on the ground in a heap. The rough rock supporting her body was tantamount to heaven. She didn't have to do anything to stay anchored on it, didn't have to fight to stay above the water any longer.

With tremendous effort, Isabella cracked open her waterlogged, bloodshot eyes and could just make out Phineas gasping beside her, one of his arms still in a deadlock around her chest. _He was holding onto me?_ she thought faintly, not at all aware of his earlier presence. With a loud sigh he let his arm go, and it flopped lifelessly to the side. Isabella tried to speak but couldn't form the words.

After several minutes, Isabella forced herself to sit up, reclining against a rock wall behind them. They had managed to clamber onto a thin, flat piece of rock, water still lapping over it occasionally. Phineas struggled to move beside her, still shivering and gasping virulently.

The crevice had miraculously led them _outside_. Out of the dark, claustrophobic crack in the ground, and into the side of a narrow valley in the mountains. It was confined, as steep walls stopped them from leaving in most places, and surprisingly contained almost no snow. The underwater river emptied out through a small tunnel in a mountain and seemed to pool here before rushing on further into the unknown.

Phineas slumped over onto Isabella's shoulder, apparently even more weary than she. He had, after all, pulled her through what seemed like a mile's worth of water. "Phineas," she murmured, trying to look over at him, "You saved us." He muttered something incoherent and stared unnaturally into the rushing water at their feet.

Something was wrong. Phineas's breathing was shallow, and he wasn't talking back. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused.

"Phin, what's the matter?" Isabella panted, trying to examine him while ignoring her the growing pain right below her chest. He moaned and leaned further into her, and she noticed that he was clutching his stomach. With tender force, Isabella removed his hands and let out a horrified gasp.

A gaping hole had been ripped through Phineas's coat, the frayed edges of fabric around it tinged red from blood. Isabella frantically unzipped his coat and rolled up his soaked orange shirt to discover a puncture wound going through his right side, in and out. Phineas had been hit by a bullet, and blood was still seeping out of each side of the wound. It was too far out to cause serious damage and probably didn't break any ribs, but it was still an emergency nonetheless. He was probably suffering from shock.

_We need to call an ambulance,_ she thought instinctively, but that obviously wasn't an option. Still, she had been trained in emergency medicine years ago, and remembered most of what to do. "You're okay Phineas, I'm here. Just sit tight," she instructed curtly, temporarily forgetting how debilitated she really was. She tore off her thick, sopping coat and used it to dress the area, then used the white scarf he had fashioned for her to wrap his waist tightly and stop the blood flow. Phineas hissed and stiffened as she held pressure on the wound, gripping her knee tightly for support, but he let her work. She added another long strip of fabric from the hem of her dress and tied them together so that no more blood would be lost. A few minutes later, she made a final knot and had a primitive but working bandage around his abdomen.

Isabella flopped back to the side, absolutely exhausted, but her mind was racing. The snowmobiles seemed like a distant memory in comparison to the unnaturally hot river. How had Phineas known about the danger they were in? How had he pulled her through and out of the water, even after being shot?

Phineas read her mind. "I got hit … up there," he rasped, "After those gunshots started. … I don't know how … I kept going." He shifted himself up and let out a small moan. "Adrenaline, I guess."

Isabella gaped at him. He had saved her from the snowmobiles, pulled her through that raging river, all the while suffering a bullet wound?

"Phineas," she panted, "you've got some serious guts."

Phineas half-smiled and tried to laugh, but the pain made it come out as more of an uneven groan. Isabella blushed, realizing how unfitting that must have sounded, but decided to ignore it.

"Does it hurt?" she asked tentatively, hoping her bandage wasn't uncomfortable. He didn't answer, but Isabella knew he was holding back a moan.

"Are _you _hurt?" he mirrored back. Isabella glanced down at herself; she had several cuts and bruises and a throbbing headache, and her dress had been ripped where the jagged rock had sliced her stomach, revealing a long but superficial cut. It had been lightly bleeding before but had stopped on its own, and luckily, neither of them had broken any bones or life threatening wounds.

"I'm a lot better off than you," she muttered back.

Isabella had a burning question in the back of her mind, something she knew Phineas couldn't answer either.

_How are we going to get home if our _rescuers _want to kill us?_

She still wished that she could be the leader, as she always had for the Fireside girls. She wanted to be the one providing the answers and hope, not the questions and fear. But this was different from before. This was life-or-death, not in a controlled environment like her past experiences, and Phineas obviously had a better grasp on things. Right now, she just felt like a helpless teenage girl.

"I've got ... some food in my coat," Phineas muttered. Isabella reached behind him into his quashed backpack, trying not to nudge him and cause discomfort, and found six remaining protein bars grotesquely mashed together and one tiny fruit cup. They now had at most three days before they ran out, as most of their supplies was probably now with the enemies or swept away by the river.

_At least it's warm enough by the river,_ she thought, _We'll survive without the sleeping bag._ The water was definitely warm, Isabella could now recall—she hypothesized that it could be pressure-heated deep underground—but the rest of their situation was looking grim.

Isabella could see a shimmering pool of water not too far behind them, surrounded by what looked like whitish bubbles growing over the stone ground. Too tired to wonder what species of unknown plants they were, she placed an arm over Phineas's shoulder, and together they limped towards the pool, both cringing in pain.

When they finally reached it several minutes later, Isabella tested the bubbles with her bare feet—her boots had been lost in the river—and found them soft and spongy. They didn't have the capacity to safety check them as they had promised, and collapsed onto them at once.

Isabella knew that it was stupid _not _to check for surrounding dangers or amenities, that it was too early to fall asleep, but they needed to recover. She helped Phineas remove the remains of his still-wet snow gear and his shirt, then set them and her gear to the side to dry. Without a second thought she curled into Phineas's bare side, no longer for warmth, but just to be with him. It was warm enough that they didn't need to sleep together anymore, but now they _wanted_ to.

Something had changed between the two of them, and Isabella knew it. She felt closer to him than ever before, much closer than flirtatious best friends. It had taken a few awkward nights, but they were now used to sleeping together, even when they no longer had to. And needing to depend on each other to survive had strengthened their bond even more.

"We can still get out of this," Phineas said, pulling her out of thought. "I made you a promise, Izzy, and I'm keeping it."

The comfortable setting gave Isabella enough confidence to open up on the issue that had been nagging her. "Do you think there will be earthquakes down here too?" She had meant to sound indifferent, but it came out a little wobbly.

"Even if there are, I'm here to protect you, Izzy." He draped an arm around her, making her feel warm and secure.

"I love you, Phin," Isabella mumbled, laying her head on his chest.

To her surprise, Phineas did something Isabella never would have thought capable for someone as romantically challenged as he. He craned his neck forward, and kissed her softly on the forehead. "I love you more," he whispered back, making her heart melt, and together they drifted off to sleep.

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**Let me reiterate: They aren't boyfriend/girlfriend yet, they're just getting closer and closer without realizing it. Or at least Phineas isn't quite realizing it.**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

**_Tantamount _•** _tanta (rhymes with manta-ray) + mount__ **• **Verb_

_-equivalent, as in value, force, effect, or signification._

This word is almost a formal version of the word 'like'. From the story: "The rough rock supporting her body was tantamount to heaven." We could replace 'tantamount' with 'like' (or even 'comparable to') and it would still make sense: "The rough rock supporting her body was like heaven." Tantamount means that something is comparable to something else. For example, "her eyes were tantamount to the stars in the sky" would mean that her eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky, or comparable to them.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses: (Holy cow lots of guests!)**_

_**3/23 Guest:**_**That's why I post them once a week :)**

**_Red Dragon: _My other story "Christmas Bliss" covers both Phineas and Isabella's POV's if you'd like to see how Phineas thinks a little more. Did my comment about Phineas and Isabella 'loving' each other help clear up that concern of yours? And yep, their pictures are 'supreme' to everyone elses XD**

**_midnight:_ No but I left it like that once I saw it XD Phineas just loves her as a friend, because he cares about her :)  
**

_**Ferb:**_** That's the spirit I'd like to hear!**

_**Phineas:**_** Whoa, are we gonna get a whole group of cartoon characters reviewing? Don't worry about being 'corny' ;)**

**_Izzy Isabella: _Lol I can't guarantee any of that, sorry!  
**

_**3/24 guest:**_** I hope my post helps you understand how Phineas 'loves' Isabella. I don't know, _will_ Perry or Doof join?**

**_3/26 Guest:_ Phineas thought it was corny because he was saying something 'romantic', and in my story, he correlates anything romantic with being corny.  
**

**_Terra:_ Lots of good questions, but I'm afraid I can't answer them or that would spoil it!**

_**Phinbella Fan: **_**Thanks :)**


	10. Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated

**You people blow my mind. 50 reviews for a single chapter in one week?! Well I'm glad that people want me to stay :) And I will _try_ to finish this story on my own. I'll make a good effort. I may need to stop and focus on things, but for now I'll keep writing.**

**Please tell me if I've neglected to respond to a review (or PM) and I will - sometimes I just lose track of them.**

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Chapter 10: Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated

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The next morning, after prepping themselves for a trap with cell phones ready and a quick review on self defense, Ferb and the gang stood in an oddly shaped purple skyscraper in front of a large grey door labeled "Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated". They had driven there a few minutes before and were quickly directed to the top floor by the front desk staff.

The rest of the skyscraper and all of its residents seemed to be functioning as usual, which had initially given the group some ease of conscience. However, the dust coating the faded carpet and grimy, uncleaned windows suggested that nobody had been up here for months. Below the doorlabel were several signs that read things like "Do not disturb" and "Closed until further notice".

"Are you sure this is the right place, Brain Jane?" Buford asked, looking skeptical. She checked her phone's GPS and nodded, but her expression was unconvincing.

Ferb's heart had begun to thump in his chest. Was there a chance that Phineas and Isabella were hidden behind this door, only feet from them? Or would it just be a dead end? After a moment's hesitation, he lifted a shaking fist to the door, and knocked.

Nobody answered, but Ferb was half-expecting that. However, anxiety and the loss of his brother was getting to him, and determination for finding his brother and Isabella threw off his sense of judgment. Even though it was reckless and could have unforeseeable consequences, Ferb stepped back, got a running start, and rammed the door. It rattled but remained in place. Ferb was preparing for a second attempt when Buford flew forward instead and forced the door open with a bang.

It was decided that Ginger and Baljeet would keep guard at the entrance. It grew deadly silent as the rest of the teenagers slowly made their way into the dark, unfamiliar room, huddling together. The windows must have been boarded up, but the ex-Fireside girls were trained to have flashlights ready and pulled them out. The entry room was expansive and had high ceilings, and the few things in the otherwise desolate complex were covered by tarps and sheets. As they ventured further into what seemed like hostile territory, they could hear a faint whirring noise coming from somewhere.

It didn't seem right. They began searching hallways and extra rooms only to find bits and pieces of metal and other strange objects. Besides these, it looked as though a previously modest residence had been raided, leaving nothing but a chair or two behind. Adyson found a small metal plate with the words "Rude-inator" welded into the side, but that was the highlight of their discoveries.

Gretchen touched Ferb's hand as they walked down the long, final hallway, getting his attention. "Do you think maybe we made a mistake coming here?" she whispered. They had, after all, acted upon an entry circled in marker in a phone book. But Ferb wasn't going to let this possible opportunity go without searching every inch first. And after a turn around a corner, he didn't have to.

A large, metal dome with bright flashing lights stood in the center of the large room, looking like something out of a futuristic starship. The whole thing seemed to be vibrating and it was definitely the source of the constant whirring they had heard. The lights illuminated different parts of the room sporadically, making Ferb dizzy after looking for too long. While this machine was very bizarre, however, the thing that perturbed Ferb more were the weapons near it. Held up on and locked to the nearest wall were variety of large military-grade guns and other weapons, lined up and ready for use. These were most certainly illegal, but why were they even here? He was beginning to feel very unwelcome, even more so as a trespasser.

Ferb's friends must have noticed the danger as well, as Buford took a step in front of the girls as if to shield them. For reasons unknown, they were all beginning to feel very threatened in this eerie building suite.

And then it happened. A wave of overwhelming nausea slammed Ferb like a bull, and he immediately felt as though he would crumple from dizziness. A thump on his shoulder let him know that Gretchen actually _had_ crumpled to the ground, and none of the others looked well anymore either. Buford was turning green and had only just caught Adyson, who had also nearly fallen down.

"We need to get out of here," Ferb got out as he tried helping Gretchen back up and began to feel a new, throbbing headache. Surely they had discovered a vital piece of information and would need to investigate later, but it felt as though danger was closing in on them from all sides. In a mutual agreement, everyone began stumbling towards the hallway to get away. But when they were nearly around the corner, the machine began to beep.

Despite their growing nausea, every head turned as every light on the machine lit up. Then, every light began to flash in sync with the beeping, and the whirring in the machine began to grow louder. Faster and faster the beeping went, brighter and brighter the lights were, and then with a final blinding flash, everything went dark.

The room was completely silent. Everyone seemed paralyzed with fear, as if expecting a landmine to go off from the slightest movement. And then they heard footsteps. Not from in the hallway, not from the floor below, but from _in front of the machine_. Adyson and Gretchen simultaneously got the nerve to shine their flashlights at the dark machine, and Ferb felt his heart freeze.

Standing in front of the machine and armed with lethal sniper rifles and pistols were four huge men staring back at them.

The strangers reacted a fraction of a second too late. Two of them made a jump forward, but Adyson's hand was already in the air, spewing out pepper spray in their direction. One of the men let out a yell of pain, but the teenagers were already scrambling around the corner to escape their pursuers.

Ferb felt as though he was about to throw up but fought to push Gretchen on, who could barely keep her balance. They were halfway down the long hallway with Adyson and Buford farther ahead, but could hear heavy footsteps pounding behind them. And then a succession of gunshots shattered the air around them, one coming so close that he could feel it. Ferb had to dive into an empty room and struggled to get back up, going dizzy. Gretchen was gasping beside him, whether from exhaustion, shock, or nausea he knew not.

"No!" a deep voice yelled angrily from behind them. "Fools!"

Ferb and Gretchen silently crawled away from the entrance, hiding in the darkness of the room. All noise he ceased, other than Gretchen's light huffs as she tried to quiet herself. Ferb put his hand over Gretchen's mouth, deathly still. He didn't dare breathe. And suddenly all his nausea was gone, as if he had never been sick. But Ferb didn't have time to wonder why.

It was certain; they had discovered a key piece of information to finding Phineas and Isabella. And it could likely cost them their lives. These men, wherever they came from, we're ready to kill to protect their secret. But _why? _And where were the others? Had Buford and Adyson made it out? Could Ballet or Ginger hear the commotion?

Gretchen had her phone out and was trying to dial 911. But her phone wouldn't respond, wouldn't even flash a no-battery alert. Grimacing, she put it away.

Heavy footsteps began pounding down the hallway. The enemies had reorganized and were coming to get them. Maybe they would pass right by their room, but Ferb was already formulating a plan. He found the "Rude-inator" scrap of metal and gripped it tightly, ready to defend himself and Gretchen. Gretchen too had her pepper spray ready, looking alert and even fierce.

The footsteps came closer and closer, and then stopped right outside their room.

"They couldn't have gotten far," one of them snarled, "Let's split and search."

Thirty seconds passed. Then the outline of a man's head appeared in the entryway, and he scanned the pitch black room. Ferb and Gretchen hid in the shadows, poised to attack.

The man turned away. "Flashlight, over here," he called quietly. Ferb nodded at Gretchen, and they advanced up to the door opening. There was a slight clinking of something being caught, and then the man stepped into their room again. He began fumbling with the flashlight to turn it on in the dark, and Ferb knew this was their chance.

Blinding, electric light flooded the room as the flashlight finally came on, and the first thing the man saw was Ferb's metal rectangle hitting him squarely in the jaw. Then Gretchen tripped him, and they were out of the room before he could yell to his friends.

The couple rounded the corner to a large room they had already passed through, which was empty. They ran through it and turned the corner to the last hallway, and there was the exit, the way out of this monster of a penthouse.

The two sprinted for the door, but then another man jumped from an empty door and tackled Gretchen to the floor. She shrieked as her can of pepper spray rolled away. Ferb whirled around and sent his piece of metal at the man like a frisbee. He deflected it with the barrel of his gun, but then Buford appeared behind them. Before the man had his rifle ready, Buford kicked it out of his grasp and pummeled into him. Ferb helped pull Gretchen away and then joined the fight, punching the man in the shoulder. He blocked a blow to his right but was knocked off-balance, but before he could rejoin, more pepper spray was shooting towards the man. Both he and Buford let out cries and staggered away from each other, just in time for Ferb to grab Buford's hand and guide him to the exit.

Adyson, Baljeet, and Ginger were in an open elevator, urging them on frantically. Everyone rushed into it and then Baljeet slammed the close button. Ferb saw the other three men apppear out of the condo just as the doors finally closed.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the elevator began to descend. Only Buford was still tense, rubbing his eyes and moaning.

"What happened?!" both Ginger and Baljeet exclaimed. They had been alerted only moments before by Adyson, who must have escaped earlier.

It was several seconds before anyone could answer. Everyone was still in shock.

"Ugh… We got attacked," Buford finally grunted amidst cleaning his eyes with his shirt. "We found this crazy light machine, and then four big guys appeared and tried to shoot us!"

"It *gasp* was abandoned," Gretchen puffed, "or so we thought. Hidden in the back *huff* was a big machine that might have us all sick *gasp* for a few minutes. But where did those people come from?"

"I don't know what you guys saw, but there was *huff* _no way _into that room besides our entrance," Adyson got out, still panting. "And there's _no way _anyone snuck past me while that dome thingy was flashing, even if I _was_ about to hurl on Buford." Buford half-sniggered, but he was still in too much pain to retort.

"I think it somehow fried my phone, too" she continued. "I tried calling 911 *gasp* but my phone's completely dead."

"Then where did they come from? And what did the machine _do_?" Gretchen wondered.

Ferb said nothing, but the flashing lights and the tension seemed awfully ... _familiar_ to him. Everything seemed distorted as they flashed, and then the men just appeared. _It couldn't have been an ambush,_ he thought,_ or else the gunmen were really good at acting surprised._

"Did it make us sick in order to weaken us, so that those men could capture us more easily? But then why did we have an escape?" Gretchen continued to think out loud. But Ferb knew they weren't safe yet.

"We should reach the bottom floor before the men do," he said, "but we need to leave _fast_." He didn't care what other people thought of them running through the skyscraper.

The others agreed, getting ready to flee the elevator. Ferb could feel his heart begin to pump with anxiety, and he felt Gretchen's hand tighten around his own.

_20th Floor … 10th Floor …_ _Main Floor_

As the elevator came to an abrupt stop, the metal doors slowly opened and Ferb and the others peered out into the lobby, looking for trouble. Only receptionists sitting at the front desk and a man texting on his phone were there.

Ferb led the way, Gretchen at his side, as the group sped walked out of the building and into the bright midday sun. Only a few pedestrians were strolling down the streets, with no sign of any intimidating men. Ferb could see the gang's parked only a block and a half away, just as they had left them.

"Walk in pairs or alone. Don't look suspicious; it was dark so they couldn't have gotten a good look at us. We don't know if there are more of them," Ferb instructed in a low voice. The men were likely still coming down the skyscraper, but he didn't want to take any chances. He had a very eerie feeling, as if they were being watched.

Buford walked away first, reading a magazine he had picked up in the skyscraper and trying not to rub his eyes, while Adyson trailed behind him inconspicuously. Ferb and Gretchen went next.

"We're a couple," she whispered in his ear, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. They tried to walk lazily, swaying their free arms and pretending to flirt with one another. Gretchen laid her forehead on Ferb's shoulder, but she was just as alert for any signs of trouble. They were too tense, too stiff to go completely unnoticed.

They were had crossed the first block and were passing an alley, nearly to their car, when Ferb felt Gretchen poke him hard in the ribs. He glanced ever-so-slightly in her direction and saw a tall man on the other side of the street, watching them. They sped up.

_He's just another shopper,_ Ferb repeated in his mind,_ no need to worry._ But he could feel his heartbeat speeding up even more.

They were only ten feet away. Buford was unlocking the car, and then Adyson opened up a back door for them. With a sigh of relief, Ferb got into the car after Gretchen, eager for his friends to come.

But when he looked out the car window, Baljeet and Ginger were nowhere to be seen. The street was deserted.

"W-Where'd they go?" Adyson asked nervously, scanning the street as well. "We were only walking for a minute."

"That man's gone," Gretchen whispered to Ferb, sending an icy jolt down him.

And then two of the men burst out of the distant purple skyscraper's doors, and everyone ducked. But when Ferb stole a glance up, the men were running in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, Ferb could feel himself opening the car door, getting out into the open. "What are you _doing_?" Gretchen asked, panicking. "You'll be seen!"

"Baljeet and Ginger are in trouble," Ferb replied shortly, "I can _feel _it." Without another word he began to sneak back.

A muffled slam of a car door told him that Buford had joined him. They continued walking towards the skyscraper, but when Ferb glanced down the alley, his heart froze.

Ginger and Baljeet were huddled against a wall, trembling. The big man was in front of them, pointing a pistol directly at them and speaking into a radio. His blocky head was hidden by a face mask, but he was very tall and well-built. He hadn't noticed Ferb nor Buford.

"Yes, I'm West of the converger. No sign of those kids. Scan North and East for them, I'll keep looking over here." _*Static* _"They couldn't have gotten far."

Ferb and Buford were already halfway into the alley, crouching behind a dumpster.

Someone spoke through the radio. "No," the man replied in a deep voice, "I told you, they were just a few stupid teenagers. I could actually see them."

More noises came through the radio. The groaned, then looked up at Ginger and Baljeet. He took a step closer to them, cocked back the pistol—

—And threw it to the side. This was their chance.

Ferb and Buford jumped from their hiding place and slammed into the man, knocking him to the ground. Ferb held him down while Buford aimed a punch at his head, but the man threw them off.

"Wai—" but the man was cut off as Buford pummeled him again. Ginger was fumbling with her pepper spray and Baljeet was cautiously approaching the discarded gun, when the man shouted "I'm on your side!"

Ferb ripped away the man's radio as Buford held down his arms. But the man had stopped resisting, and let them detain him.

"I'm here to help you," he repeated, but Ferb knew it was a trick. His mind was racing, he couldn't think straight. But then the man said one more thing:

"I know about Phineas."

* * *

**Sorry, I'll have to leave you hanging with that cliffhanger for a little while. And by the way, these chapters are happening in chronological order, with a little bit of wiggle room ;)**

**...But how did the man get down before Ferb did? Were there more than four of them? Why was the machine there? Why am I questioning you when I know all the answers?**

**...**

~Word of the Week~

_******Skeptical •** skep + tik + ol (like old)_ **•** _Adjective__  
_

_- showing doubt; not easily convinced._

This word is more common, but I didn't know what it meant for a long time so I'll go over it. A _skeptic_ is a person who doubts or doesn't agree with things that most other people do. For example, nonmembers of Christianity are often skeptical about beliefs such as heaven; thus they don't really believe the beliefs or think that there are problems with them. From the story: "Are you sure this is the right place, Brain Jane?" Buford asked, looking skeptical." Buford didn't think that they had gone to the right door because of the dirty conditions on the outside. He was doubtful that they were in the right place, or in other words, _skeptical_.

**...**

_**Guest Review Responses:**_

**Due to the ridiculous number of guest reviews, I've posted my own review to this story which answers every single guest. This is to decrease the word count which is already way too high :) I'm glad all you non-members still care about supporting me :D**


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